Yes, you can have heart failure for years without knowing because early stages can be asymptomatic or have subtle, easily ignored symptoms like mild fatigue, shortness of breath with activity, or slight swelling, which often worsen gradually, making it hard to pinpoint when it started until it significantly impacts daily life or a specific event occurs.
Manage stress
And everyone has specific stress triggers — things that cause your heart to pound and make you breathe harder. It's important to try to manage stress and anxiety. They make the heart work harder, which can make symptoms worse. Don't smoke, drink, overeat or use drugs to cope with stress.
Many people with heart failure can comfortably manage their symptoms and live full, productive lives. “Heart failure is a condition when the heart can't pump enough blood to meet the body's demands,” explains Mandeep Mehra, MD, MBBS, MSc, FRCP (London).
Weight gain is the first sign that your heart failure may be getting worse. Patients can gain up to 10 pounds of “extra” weight from fluid before feeling bad or swelling.
The Silent Danger: Recognizing and Responding to Heart Disease Symptoms. Heart disease is often called a silent killer because it typically doesn't announce itself with clear and dramatic symptoms until it's quite advanced. Knowing the early signs and symptoms of heart disease can be life-saving.
Symptoms of heart failure may include:
Heart failure means that the heart isn't working as well as it should. One effect of this can be extra fluid in your body. This can cause rapid weight gain and can cause swelling in the ankles, feet or legs, or sometimes around the stomach.
In general, call if you gain 3 pounds or more in 2 to 3 days. Your doctor can tell you how much weight gain to watch for. A sudden weight gain may mean that your heart failure is getting worse. Also tell your doctor about any slower weight gain you may have.
Choose an aerobic activity that you enjoy such as walking (outside or on a treadmill), stationary cycling, swimming, and rowing or water aerobics. Ask your doctor before lifting weights. Exercise should be done regularly to gain the benefits; national guidelines suggest most days of the week if not everyday.
Of the deaths in patients with HF, up to 50% are sudden and unexpected; indeed, patients with HF have 6- to 9-times the rate of sudden cardiac death (SCD) of the general population.
Heart failure mainly occurs in older people. It usually first arises after the age of 65, and the risk increases with age. More than 10% of people over the age of 70 have heart failure. It is equally common in men and women.
Aging. As you age, your heart can weaken and stiffen. People over 65 are more likely to have heart failure.
“Smoking is one of the most harmful things people can do to themselves,” Dr. Maniar says. Blood flow drops, slashing oxygen that fuels the heart, which compensates by spiking blood pressure, heart rate and rhythm, and can lead to hardened and narrowed arteries and blood clots causing cardiovascular disease.
Heart failure symptoms may include: Shortness of breath with activity or when lying down. Fatigue and weakness. Swelling in the legs, ankles and feet.
These tests can help determine the type and severity of heart failure and the most effective treatments. Tests may include physical exams, blood tests, chest X-rays, EKGs, echocardiograms, exercise stress tests, MUGA scans, cardiac catheterization and cardiac MRI.
Chronic heart failure patients also showed significantly lower gait speed, stride length, gait cycle and step length (p<0.05).
Cardiac troponin.
This protein is by far the most commonly used biomarker. It has the highest known sensitivity.
You may also feel sleepy after eating, weak in the legs when walking and short of breath while being active. The heart can't pump enough blood to meet the needs of body tissues. The body diverts blood from less vital organs and sends it to the heart and brain. A feeling of being full or sick to your stomach.
Hypertension, also known as high blood pressure, is a serious medical condition in which the blood vessels are pushing against artery walls at a rate higher than they should. Known as “the silent killer,” hypertension can lead to heart attack, stroke and kidney disease.