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.
You may have trouble breathing, an irregular heartbeat, swollen legs, neck veins that stick out, and sounds from fluid built up in your lungs. Your doctor will check for these and other signs of heart failure. A test called an echocardiogram is often the best test to diagnose your heart failure.
Unusual swelling in the legs, feet, hands, or abdomen. A persistent cough or chest congestion (the cough may be dry or hacking) Increasing fatigue or a sudden decrease in your ability to do normal activities. A loss of appetite or nausea.
If you wake up feeling not refreshed, you have daytime sleepiness or if you need to curtail your daytime activity because of lack of energy, these could be signs your heart failure isn't being managed as well as it could be, Dr. Freeman says.
However, life expectancy for a person with CHF has substantially improved over time. A person's age at diagnosis may impact prognosis. The authors report that the 5-year survival rate for people under 65 years of age was around 79%, while the rate was about 50% for those 75 and over.
Sometimes, heart failure symptoms start suddenly. Heart failure symptoms may include: Shortness of breath with activity or when lying down. Fatigue and weakness.
Typical signs of heart failure include: Breathlessness or Shortness of Breath (Dyspnea) When the heart begins to fail, blood backs up in the veins attempting to carry oxygenated blood from the lungs to the heart. As fluid pools in the lungs, it interferes with normal breathing.
People with heart failure may feel constantly tired and have difficulty performing daily activities such as walking, climbing stairs or carrying groceries. Exercise intolerance and fatigue are often the most common symptoms of heart failure.
High blood pressure.
High blood pressure is a major risk factor for heart disease. It is a medical condition that happens when the pressure of the blood in your arteries and other blood vessels is too high.
Heart failure is a serious long-term condition that will usually continue to get slowly worse over time. It can severely limit the activities you're able to do and is often eventually fatal. But it's very difficult to tell how the condition will progress on an individual basis. It's very unpredictable.
The life expectancy for congestive heart failure depends on the cause of heart failure, its severity, and other underlying medical conditions. In general, about half of all people diagnosed with congestive heart failure will survive 5 years. About 30% will survive for 10 years.
Tests for heart failure
Tests you may have to diagnose heart failure include: 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.
Get to your doctor. You may have trouble breathing, an irregular heartbeat, swollen legs, neck veins that stick out, and sounds from fluid built up in your lungs. Your doctor will check for these and other signs of heart failure. A test called an echocardiogram is often the best test to diagnose your heart failure.
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.
You can check for heart disease at home by measuring your pulse rate and your blood pressure if you have a blood pressure monitor. You can also monitor yourself for symptoms of heart disease, such as: Chest pain, pressure, discomfort, or tightness. Being short of breath.
Factors that can worsen symptoms of heart failure
anaemia (a condition where the blood doesn't have enough healthy red blood cells) too much salt, fluid, or alcohol in your diet. pregnancy. some viral and bacterial infections.
Can heart failure cause weight loss? People living with heart failure can develop rapid weight loss. This is known as cardiac cachexia, and the outlook for people with the condition is not positive due to an increased risk of mortality.
Depending on how severe heart failure is, it may go unnoticed, only cause minor symptoms, or really affect your physical fitness. People who have advanced heart failure find it hard to carry out normal everyday activities. Various treatments can relieve the symptoms and help you live longer.
Patients with congestive heart failure have a high incidence of sudden cardiac death that is attributed to ventricular arrhythmias.
Heart failure also becomes more common as people age. In American adults over the age of 40, 1 in 5 will develop heart failure within their lifetime. In people over the age of 65, heart failure is the most common cause of hospitalization, and cardiovascular diseases like heart failure are the leading cause of death.
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).