Heart failure symptoms

Systolic congestive heart failure occurs when the heart does not pump blood effectively. There are 4 stages of congestive heart failure. As the stages progress, the symptoms become more severe. Congestive heart failure may happen when the heart muscle is too weak or when another health problem prevents it from circulating blood efficiently. Over time, systolic congestive heart failure, or heart failure (HF), can lead to dysfunction of other organs due to inefficient pumping. This article discusses how HF progresses over time and explains the outlook for people with this condition. It also examine the causes, symptoms, treatment options, and stages. There are four different stages of systolic heart failure: A, B, C, and D. When the condition progresses to the next stage, a person’s People with stage A HF do not yet have dysfunction of the pumping activity of the heart but have a high risk of developing HF due to related conditions, such as chronic Symptoms A person usually has no symptoms of HF at this stage but may experience symptoms of their chronic conditions, including: • shortness of breath • difficulty breathing • swelling in the hands, feet, and ankles Outlook People with this stage HF have no problems with the structure of the heart or how their heart works. Treatment should focus on managing risk factors. People at this stage will show symptoms of HF linked to underlying structural heart disease, including Stage C HF also includes people who no longer show symptom...

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. While some degree of vitality loss can be attributed to natural aging, fatigue and breathlessness may also be signals that your heart is not functioning as well as it should. "There is a general tendency for people to ignore heart failure symptoms and attribute them to just getting older. Therefore, it was very important for us to create an easy way to identify those symptoms," says Dr. Mandeep R. Mehra, medical director of the Heart and Vascular Center at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women's Hospital. FACES of heart failure Heart failure occurs when something damages the heart muscle or reduces the heart's ability to pump effectively. Most often, the damage stems from To help both doctors and patients quickly spot a possible combination of F = Fatigue.When the heart can't pump enough oxygen-rich blood to meet the body's energy needs, a general feeling of tiredness or fatigue sets in. A = Activity limitation.People with heart failure are often unable to do their normal activities because they become easily tired and short of breath. C = Congestion.Fluid buildup in the lungs can result in coughing, wheezing, and breathing difficulty. E = Edema or ankle swelling.When the heart doesn...

Heart failure occurs when your heart cannot pump enough blood to support your body functions. Seek help immediately if you’re experiencing symptoms such as heart palpitations, shortness of breath, or swelling. Heart failure is characterized by the heart’s inability to pump an adequate supply of blood to the body. Without sufficient blood flow, all major body functions are disrupted. Heart failure is a condition or a collection of symptoms that weaken or stiffen your heart. In some people with heart failure, the heart has difficulty pumping enough blood to support other organs in the body. Other people may have a hardening and stiffening of the heart muscle itself, which blocks or reduces blood flow to the heart. Heart failure can affect the right or left side of your heart or both at the same time. It can be either an • With acute heart failure, the symptoms appear suddenly but go away fairly quickly. This condition can occur after a heart attack. It may also be a result of a problem with the heart valves that control the flow of blood in the heart. • With chronic heart failure, symptoms are continuous and don’t improve over time. Most heart failure cases are chronic. About Heart failure is a serious medical condition that requires treatment. Early treatment increases your chances of long-term recovery with fewer complications. Call your doctor right away if you’re having any symptoms of heart failure. Heart failure is most often related to another condition. The most comm...

What is heart failure? Heart failure is a condition that occurs when the heart can’t pump as well as it should. This may happen when the heart muscle becomes weak or stiff. As a result, it doesn’t deliver enough blood to the rest of the body. When the body doesn’t get enough blood, it doesn’t get enough oxygen and nutrients. Heart failure can become life-threatening, so the condition requires medical attention. • • Symptoms of heart failure include shortness of breath, swelling in the legs and feet, and abdominal pain or nausea. • Diagnosis includes tests for the existence of heart failure, followed by tests to evaluate the cause of the heart failure. • Treatment for heart failure begins with lifestyle changes and medications. In more advanced cases, surgery may be needed. • People can and do live with heart failure. Close self-monitoring and sticking to the doctor’s recommended diet, medication and exercise plans are essential to improving quality of life. What causes heart failure? Heart failure is usually caused by another health problem. The three most common causes of heart failure are: • Coronary artery disease :This occurs when the arteries that supply blood to the heart muscle become narrow, causing the heart to work harder to pump blood. Eventually, coronary artery disease can weaken the heart muscle and affect the heart’s pumping ability. • Heart attack :A heart attack (myocardial infarction) can cause scar tissue that interferes with the heart’s ability to pump....