Cardiac cachexia and heart failure
Cardiac cachexia is unintentional severe weight loss caused by heart disease. Even with a very good appetite and high calorie intake, some people with heart failure lose muscle mass.
How does heart failure cause it?
- Heart failure may cause blood to back up into the liver and intestines, and they may swell. This swelling can lead to nausea and decreased appetite.
- Swelling of the intestines may not allow for adequate absorption of nutrients from the food you eat.
- Heart failure may force you to work harder to breathe and cause your body temperature to increase. Both of these conditions burn calories.
- In people with severe heart failure, tumour necrosis factor (TNF) and other signalling molecules in the bloodstream called cytokines can increase the metabolic rate of the tissues, thus burning more calories.
| Author: | Douglas Dana Robin Parks, MS | Last Updated: October 23, 2006 |
| Medical Review: | Adam Husney, MD - Family Medicine Caroline S. Rhoads, MD - Internal Medicine Stephen Fort, MD, MRCP, FRCPC - Interventional Cardiology | |
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