
In most cases, doctors will try to rule out other health problems that may be causing your weight loss. There’s no specific test that can diagnose cardiac cachexia.

It also increases inflammation and chemicals in your blood that can cause muscle breakdown.The condition causes a problem with some of the hormones your body uses to control blood pressure and blood sugar levels.Your body breaks down muscle proteins.So you burn more calories, but at the same time, you can’t absorb them from food. The condition makes your body use more energy to do basic things, like breathing.Malnutrition keeps the liver from making a protein called albumin, which helps the blood carry important chemicals throughout your body.Fluid buildup from congestive heart failure can sometimes make it harder to absorb nutrients from food.Some experts think it may happen when there’s an imbalance in the way your body’s nervous system tells your digestive tract how to break down food.īut scientists know a few things about how the condition affects the body and causes symptoms: Causesĭoctors are not exactly sure what causes cardiac cachexia. The condition also has serious effects on many parts of the body, including the digestive tract, lungs, and heart, and the body’s ability to make blood cells. Some of these symptoms make you more likely to lose even more weight. The main symptom of cardiac cachexia is weight loss. It’s a complex disorder that has to do with the way your body absorbs and uses the nutrients and calories you eat.

Once it begins, you can’t reverse it simply by eating more. It means you lose a serious amount of body fat, muscle, and bone. Cardiac cachexia is a condition that can happen to people who have heart failure.
