Congestive cardiac or heart failure, also known in short as CCF, is a condition in which disorders of the heart render it unable to deliver adequate oxygenated blood supply to the body.
This condition can be caused due to coronary artery disease, high blood pressure, long standing alcohol abuse, and chronic disorders of the valves of the heart.
The symptoms of this condition include swelling of the feet and abdomen, breathlessness, fatigue, increased urination, nausea, abdominal pain, and decreased appetite.
CCF is a serious condition and invariably causes serious mortality, if not aggressively treated and controlled.
The modern management of this condition includes treating the known cause for the condition, giving medication to improve the contractile capacity of the heart, diuretics to reduce the resulting oedema, and other symptomatic treatment.
Salt and fluid intake needs to be restricted, and appropriate lifestyle modifications need to be made in order to control this condition.
It is equally important to abstain completely from alcohol and smoking, while stress needs to be adequately controlled.
Modern management is usually successfully in maintaining individuals affected with CCF for a few months to a few years.
However, over time, this condition gradually deteriorates and symptoms become unmanageable.
The main reason for this is that most of the causes for CCF invariably prove to be incurable, by the time full fledged CCF sets in.
However, CCF can be adequately controlled by a judicious combination of modern treatment and Ayurvedic herbal treatment, so as to provide maximum therapeutic long-term benefit to the affected individual, a significant increase in life span, improved quality of life, and a possible cure for the disease.
Ayurvedic herbal treatment for CCF basically focuses on treating the known cause for the condition and providing medication to improve the overall functioning of the heart.
Ayurvedic medicines which have a specific action on the heart muscles and improve muscular tone as well as the capacity for contraction are used in the successful management of this condition.
Long-term use of such medicines provides a dramatic and significant improvement in cardiac functioning, improves the blood circulation and reduces oedema in the body.
Specific Ayurvedic treatment needs to be given for coronary artery disease, so as to reduce inflammation, swelling and blockage in the coronary arteries.
Long standing hypertension also needs to be controlled aggressively with a combination of medicines which reduce blood pressure directly as well as provide relaxation and reduction of stress.
Disorders of the valves of the heart also need to be specifically treated to the maximum extent possible so that the heart can function properly.
Chronic alcoholism needs to be treated aggressively, and adverse effects of long-term alcohol ingestion on the heart need to be treated and reversed.
With aggressive and regular treatment of CCF with Ayurvedic medicines, there is a substantial improvement in the symptoms of this condition as well as the known causes in affected individuals.
Most individuals affected with CCF require Ayurvedic herbal treatment for periods ranging from 6 to 12 months, depending upon the known cause for the condition and its severity.
Ayurvedic treatment thus has a significant role to play in the management and treatment of CCF.