Daisy E. Piner
1.1 Discussion
04/06/2018
THE HEART:
Your heart is a pump that pushes blood through your body. Sometimes, this pump
weakens and isn’t able to keep the blood flowing through your body as well anymore. This is
called heart failure or congestive heart failure. It doesn’t mean your heart has stopped working,
but rather that is doesn’t work as well as it used to. Heart failure can happen when one or both
sides of the heart become weaker. Your heart has two upper atria and two lower ventricles. In
most cases heart failure usually affects the left side first. Your body has an amazing ability to
make up for heart failure. Because your heart cannot pump well, your body tries to hold on to
salt and water, this increasing the amount of blood in your bloodstream, your heart beats faster
and your heart may get bigger. Your body may do such a good job that you may not even know
you have a disease. Unfortunately there will come a point where your heart and body will no
longer be able to keep up. Then fluid begins to build up in your body and you have symptoms
like feeling weak and out of breath. The heart, along with the roots of the great vessels, are
contained in a double-walled sac called the pericardium. This sac is made up of two layers, a
serous layer and a fibrous layer. It encloses the pericardial cavity which contains “pericardial
fluid”. Thus, it is normal to have a small amount of fluid around the heart as it is an important
1.1 Discussion
04/06/2018
THE HEART:
Your heart is a pump that pushes blood through your body. Sometimes, this pump
weakens and isn’t able to keep the blood flowing through your body as well anymore. This is
called heart failure or congestive heart failure. It doesn’t mean your heart has stopped working,
but rather that is doesn’t work as well as it used to. Heart failure can happen when one or both
sides of the heart become weaker. Your heart has two upper atria and two lower ventricles. In
most cases heart failure usually affects the left side first. Your body has an amazing ability to
make up for heart failure. Because your heart cannot pump well, your body tries to hold on to
salt and water, this increasing the amount of blood in your bloodstream, your heart beats faster
and your heart may get bigger. Your body may do such a good job that you may not even know
you have a disease. Unfortunately there will come a point where your heart and body will no
longer be able to keep up. Then fluid begins to build up in your body and you have symptoms
like feeling weak and out of breath. The heart, along with the roots of the great vessels, are
contained in a double-walled sac called the pericardium. This sac is made up of two layers, a
serous layer and a fibrous layer. It encloses the pericardial cavity which contains “pericardial
fluid”. Thus, it is normal to have a small amount of fluid around the heart as it is an important
