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Show tion is the exception rather thar the rule . Treatment of the underlying causes is important. For example if high blood pressure is placing a strain on the heart, it can ofter be lowered or controlled b drugs or diet. When defective heart valves are the cause oJ heart failure, surgery may be able to correct them. If there h edema (swelling), a solium-re-stricted heart may be recommended recom-mended or a drug prescribed to help the kidneys eliminate the excess sodium and water. Rest, quiet, diet and modified daily activities all may be helpful. help-ful. In general, congestive heart failure requires more than one kind of treatment. To avoid a strain on the heart, some patients pa-tients may have to adjust to a slower pace of living. With medical supervision a heart failure need not make an invalid of the patient. The new Heart' Association Utah Heart- Assn. Clears Misconception About Heart Illness In an effort to clear up a popular popu-lar misconception about "heart failure," the Utah Heart Association Asso-ciation this week released a hopeful message stating that most patients with this condition respond well to proper medical care and can lead fairly active lives. A new leaflet, issued by the American Heart Association' and its affiliates, points out that contrary to wide misunderstanding, misunderstand-ing, congestive heart failure or cardiac insufficiency (the terms used by doctors) do not mean that the heart stops beating. A "failing" heart continues to work but with less strength than is needed for good health. "Medical science has found ways to strengthen the heart and to help patients control their leaflet emphasizes that only a physician can recognize and treat heart failure. "The sooner he is consulted, the sooner the condition can be relieved or controlled," it says. Difficulty in breathing and edema are the most common indications in-dications of heart failure. These symptoms do not always mean that the heart is failing but seeing see-ing a physician is recommended if any of the following conditions condi-tions is present: 1. Labored breathing during ordinary activity. 2. Frequent waking at night with shortness of breath. 3. Swelling of ankles, legs and sometimes the abdomen, and increasing in-creasing weight, caused by -an accumulation of water in tissues. Ordinarily heart failure does not come on suddenly but attention atten-tion should be paid to warning signals when they first occur. I heart failure," the leaflet, Facts About Congestive Heart Failure, states. It is available to the public pub-lic from the Utah Heart Assn., 250 East First South, Salt Lake City. It will also be distributed in connection with showings of a new film. Congestive Heart Failure, produced by the American Ameri-can Heart Association. Congestive heart failure happens hap-pens when the heart's ability to circulate blood normally over the body has been weakened by some form of heart or blood vessel disease. Among these are narrowing of the arteries that nourish the heart, a severe heart attack, severe high blood pressure, pres-sure, rheumatic fever of heart defects present at birth. The leaflet offers this reassuring reas-suring information: Most mild . or moderate cases and many severe ones respond well to treatment. Hospitaliza- |