to symptoms of anorexia and can be severe enough
to cause cardiac cachexia, a syndrome characterized
by end-stage heart failure and severe weight loss and
malnutrition.16 Cachexia is a sign of very poor prognosis.
The term cachexia is of Greek origin derived
from the word kakos (bad) and hexis (condition).16 The
exact mechanism of anorexia in cardiac cachexia is not
known, but it may be related to a protein-losing enteropathy
caused by intestinal edema.16 Anorexia could
also be a side effect of medications used in the treatment
of heart failure, such as digitalis.