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Oxygen Therapy Helpful for Those Suffering from Heart Failure |
When you have heart failure, your heart does not pump as effectively as it should and does not meet your
body's need for oxygen. Oxygen therapy helps reduce the heart's workload and increases the amount of oxygen
delivered to your body's tissues, lungs and bloodstream. Long-term therapy is given to people who have low
levels of oxygen in their blood, it can help decrease shortness of breath, make it easier to breathe, and
allow you to do more.
Some people need extra oxygen all the time, but others need it only from time to time throughout the day or
overnight. Your doctor can measure blood oxygen levels with a blood test called arterial blood gas and a
medical test called oximetry. He or she can then prescribe how much oxygen you should use per minute (the
flow rate) and how often to use it. Do not change the flow rate unless your doctor tells you. Higher flow
rates usually do not help your symptoms and can increase the risk of harmful carbon dioxide buildup in the
blood, especially in people who also have lung disease.
Oxygen can be supplied by oxygen concentrators, liquid-oxygen devices, or oxygen-gas cylinders (also called
tanks). To breathe the oxygen, most people use a thin tube with two prongs that fit just inside the nose
called a nasal cannula. Children and people who require a lot of oxygen may need to use a mask that fits
over both the nose and mouth. You do not need to stay at home or in a hospital to use oxygen, the systems
are portable and you can use them while doing daily tasks.
Generally, there are no adverse effects from this treatment, but it is a fire hazard. It’s important to
follow safety guidelines and not use oxygen around lit cigarettes, open flames, or flammable substances.
From WebMD.com, August 2010
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