How long can you live with congestive heart failure? In general, more than half of all people diagnosed with congestive heart failure will survive for 5 years. About 35% will survive for 10 years.
It is possible to lead a normal life, even if you have Heart Failure. Understanding and taking control of Heart Failure is the key to success. Your doctor and healthcare providers will provide guidelines and a treatment plan. It is your responsibility to follow the treatment plan and manage your Heart Failure.
Symptoms can develop quickly (acute heart failure) or gradually over weeks or months (chronic heart failure).
The earliest symptoms of heart failure are often very subtle, but it's dangerous to ignore them. It's an unfortunate truth that your body slows down in your sixth and seventh decades. Climbing a flight of stairs that you once took two at a time can now feel as daunting as scaling Mount Everest.
“Getting diagnosed with heart failure usually starts when you notice symptoms such as shortness of breath, fatigue, rapid or irregular heartbeat or swelling in the legs, ankles, feet or abdomen,” says Dr. Piña.
There isn't a cure for heart failure but available treatments can help manage symptoms and improve your quality of life.
blood tests – to check whether there's anything in your blood that might indicate heart failure or another illness. an electrocardiogram (ECG) – this records the electrical activity of your heart to check for problems. an echocardiogram – a type of ultrasound scan where sound waves are used to examine your heart.
In general, about half of all people diagnosed with congestive heart failure will survive 5 years. About 30% will survive for 10 years. In patients who receive a heart transplant, about 21% of patients are alive 20 years later.
In men, this typically starts around age 45, and in women, around age 55.
A chest X-ray can be useful to identify evidence of heart failure or other lung pathology; however, a normal result does not rule out a diagnosis of heart failure. An electrocardiogram (ECG) is often abnormal in patients with heart failure, although up to 10% of patients may have a normal ECG.
Warning signs and symptoms of heart failure include shortness of breath, chronic coughing or wheezing, swelling, fatigue, loss of appetite, and others. Heart failure means the heart has failed to pump the way it should in order to circulate oxygen-rich blood throughout the body.
Although heart failure is a serious condition that progressively gets worse over time, certain cases can be reversed with treatment. Even when the heart muscle is impaired, there are a number of treatments that can relieve symptoms and stop or slow the gradual worsening of the condition.
It's common for people with heart failure to have good and bad days. “Sometimes it's just harder to do things; the energy isn't there,” says Anne.
... a tired feeling all the time and difficulty with everyday activities, such as shopping, climbing stairs, carrying groceries or walking. You may also feel sleepy after eating, feel weak in the legs when walking and get short of breath while being active.
Can heart failure improve with exercise? It's important to remember that exercise will not improve your ejection fraction (the percentage of blood your heart can push forward with each pump). However, it can help to improve the strength and efficiency of the rest of your body.
Stage II: You don't have heart failure symptoms at rest, but some symptoms slightly limit your physical activity. Symptoms include fatigue and shortness of breath. Stage III: Heart failure symptoms noticeably limit your physical activity (but you still are asymptomatic at rest).
Likelihood: Of all adults 40 and older, one in five Americans will develop heart failure in their lifetime.
Ms Eriksen recommends doing an aerobic activity (something where you're moving most of your body, which will increase your heart and breathing rate a little, such as moving to music or walking around) and resistance work, where you add light weights to build muscle strength.
Exercise and weight loss can help to reverse heart failure when it's started early enough. However, losing weight and keeping fit is not always enough.
Heart failure is a lifelong condition in which the heart muscle can't pump enough blood to meet the body's needs for blood and oxygen.
If you have heart failure, call your doctor if you notice any of these signs: Shortness of breath not related to exercise. Sudden weight gain (2""3 pounds in one day or 5+ pounds in one week) Extra swelling in the feet or ankles.
Your doctor may recommend a blood test to check for B-type natriuretic peptide, a protein that the heart secretes to keep blood pressure stable. These levels increase with heart failure. A blood test may also be performed to look for substances that are associated with heart and lung damage.
Many people are first alerted to worsening heart failure when they notice a weight gain of more than two or three pounds in a 24-hour period or more than five pounds in a week. This weight gain may be due to retaining fluids since the heart is not functioning properly.