Several Detroit Science Examiner fans have inspired a series on congestive heart disease for the simple purpose of explaining what it is, how it is different from congestive heart failure (CHF) and why funding for the study of congestive heart disease needs to be increased.
So, Detroit Science Examiner went to local hospitals (Henry Ford and Detroit Medical Center) to get the real questions for this series. It seems most people know exactly what congestive heart disease is... "Its congestive heart failure..."
Well, that's a deep subject and that's a point clarified to several people; it is not the same thing as CHF.
So, what is it?
Plainly, congestive heart disease is any disease or disorder that can lead to heart failure and properly called congestive cardiomyopathy.
What causes it?
In America the leading causes of congestive heart disease are Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and diabetes. These two disorders cause stress on the heart and the muscles and over time the muscles swell and become damaged, causing congestive cardiomyopathy.
Experts Worldwide Attention Please
Detroit Science Examiner went straight to Mosby's Dictionary of Medicine, Nursing and Health Professionals
Congestive caridomyopathy- a heart disease characterized by heart failure and enlargement.
Congestive Heart Failure (CHF)- an abnormal condition that reflects impaired cardiac (heart) pumping, its causes include myocardial infarction (heart attack), ischemic heart disease (chemical imbalance of the heart) and myocardial myopathy (heart muscle problems).
Even the experts confuse these two, the first represent congestive heart disease and not the latter. At Web MD heart failure and heart disease are used synonymously. The article does suggest major causes of congestive heart disease but because of the lack of clarification the article misleads readers down the same path that started this series.
The best article Detroit Science Examiner could find was at 123 life. There congestive heart disease is instantly made synonymous with CHF in the first sentence. “Congestive heart disease, otherwise known as congestive heart failure...” perhaps freelance science writing needs more regulation online.
Detroit Science Examiner hears jokes all the time about Web MD and other online sources and wants to make sure our audience knows where to find the truth about science related facts, no jokes here.
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Mosby's Dictionary, 2005 Ed., pg. 444 -CHF
http://www.life123.com/health/mens-health/heart-health/congestive-heart-diease.shtml
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