...a tired feeling all the time and difficulty with everyday activities, such as shopping, climbing stairs, carrying groceries or walking. The heart can't pump enough blood to meet the needs of body tissues.
As your heart works overtime, it can cause tiredness, shortness of breath and a feeling of being simply worn out. Such are the signs of fatigue, one of the most common symptoms of congestive heart failure.
Warning signs and symptoms of heart failure include shortness of breath, chronic coughing or wheezing, swelling, fatigue, loss of appetite, and others.
A study published in May 2021 in Nursing Reports found that over 75 percent of patients with heart failure experience sleep disorders such as sleep apnea, insomnia, waking up throughout the night, and restless legs syndrome, which can steal opportunities for peaceful slumber.
You may feel like your heart is racing or throbbing. Daily weight 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.
Symptoms can develop quickly (acute heart failure) or gradually over weeks or months (chronic heart failure).
At home, watch for changes in your heart rate, pulse, blood pressure, and weight. Weight gain, especially over a day or two, can be a sign that your body is holding on to extra fluid and your heart failure is getting worse.
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.
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.
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.
Uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain in the center of your chest. It lasts more than a few minutes, or goes away and comes back. Pain or discomfort in one or both arms, the back, neck, jaw or stomach. Shortness of breath with or without chest discomfort.
It is possible to lead a normal life, even if you have Heart Failure. People who understand their condition make better decisions, live a longer life and feel better.
Heart failure can be acute, like after a heart attack, or it may develop over time, for example because of permanently high blood pressure or coronary artery disease. Depending on how severe heart failure is, it may go unnoticed, only cause minor symptoms, or really affect your physical fitness.
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.
As you get older, you are more likely to have heart failure — it's the leading cause of hospitalization for people over age 65. But men and women under 65 also are at risk for developing heart failure.
Patients with HF commonly experience pain in any part of their body. The pain is an important and frequent symptom, particularly during the time of exacerbation and hospitalization.
Increasing age, female gender, diabetes mellitus (DM), lower hemoglobin, and dilated left atrium were strong predictors of incident HF.
Shortness of breath (also called dyspnea)
You often complain of waking up tired or feeling anxious and restless. Blood "backs up" in the pulmonary veins (the vessels that return blood from the lungs to the heart) because the heart can't keep up with the supply.
Fast heart rate (more than 120 -150 beats per minute), especially if you are short of breath or dizzy. Shortness of breath that's not relieved by rest. Sudden weakness or paralysis (inability to move) in your arms or legs. Sudden onset of a severe headache.
Fatigue and Activity Changes
The easiest way to know that heart failure is getting worse is you're able to do less and less. People start pacing themselves. They stop doing hobbies that involve any physical activity.
Actually, heart failure, sometimes called HF, means that the heart isn't pumping as well as it should. Congestive heart failure is a type of heart failure that requires timely medical attention, although sometimes the two terms are used interchangeably.
Heart failure can start suddenly after a medical condition or injury damages your heart muscle. But in most cases, heart failure develops slowly from long-term medical conditions. Conditions that can cause heart failure include: Arrhythmia (a problem with the rate or rhythm of your heartbeat)
When the right side loses pumping power, blood backs up in the body's veins. This usually causes swelling or congestion in the legs and ankles as well as swelling within the abdomen, such as the GI tract and liver (causing ascites).