Right-sided heart failure is often due to which of the following conditions?

Prepare for the ACSM Clinical Exercise Physiologist Exam. Use quizzes with multiple choice questions, hints, and explanations to boost your readiness and increase your chances of success.

Right-sided heart failure is commonly associated with increased pulmonary pressure, which leads to increased workload on the right side of the heart. The right ventricle is responsible for pumping deoxygenated blood into the lungs for oxygenation. When pulmonary pressure rises, often due to conditions such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or pulmonary hypertension, it becomes more difficult for the right ventricle to pump blood effectively.

This increased pressure can cause the right ventricle to become dilated and hypertrophied over time, eventually resulting in right-sided heart failure. Consequently, the heart struggles to meet the demands placed on it, leading to symptoms such as fluid retention and peripheral edema.

The other conditions listed do not directly cause right-sided heart failure in the same way that increased pulmonary pressure does. For instance, increased peripheral resistance primarily affects the left side of the heart and systemic circulation, while a decrease in heart rate or an increase in stroke volume would not inherently lead to the specific issues experienced in right-sided heart failure. Understanding these dynamics is crucial for recognizing the underlying causes of different types of heart failure and for implementing appropriate treatment strategies.

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