“What is cardiac cachexia? Is it fatal?”

Cardiac cachexia is weight loss, muscle wasting and severe fatigue caused by longstanding heart failure. It is the body's way of managing with a very weak heart that cannot pump enough blood around to keep a full-size body adequately supplied, a kind of "economy-mode" way of keeping going. When the heart is that weak it can fail completely without much warning, especially if there is another illness such as a chest infection.

The treatment is to ensure ther is not a deficiency of vitamins and minerals (especially iron) in the diet and ensure that the heart failure treatment is optimised.

Most of the time, cardiac cacheéis is a manifestation of end stage heart failure. It is a consequence of a condition getting to end stage rather than a primary condition. Will need to optimize therapy of the condition leading to cardiac cachexia.

Cachexia is a term used to represent any body wasting disorder with failure to thrive, loss of body muscle and fat. When it is caused by a cardiovascular cause, it is termed cardiac cachexia, which usually from heart failure or chronic illness. Mortality/fatality depends on what is causing cachexia. In general, cachexia is itself a slow body wasting away.

Cardiac cachexia is a condition that can happen to people who have heart failure. It means you lose a serious amount of body fat, muscle, and bone. Doctors often call this “body wasting.” Once it begins, you can’t reverse it simply by eating more. It’s a complex disorder that has to do with the way your body absorbs and uses the nutrients and calories you eat.
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. You will need an expert heart failure specialist who work closely with a nutritionist to help tackle this issue.