Heart failure does not mean that your heart has stopped working. It means that your heart is not pumping enough blood to meet the demands of your body.
Other terms for heart failure that are commonly used by doctors are ‘heart inefficiency’, ‘health insufficiency’, ‘heart dysfunction’ or ‘myocardial dysfunction’. More informally, you may have heard it being described as ‘baggy’ or ‘weak’ or ‘stiff’ heart.
Heart failure treatments aim to make the heart function more efficiently.
There are three main symptoms of heart failure:
1. Shortness of breath:
You may feel breathless during an activity that involves some physical exertion, such as going up a hill or a flight of stairs or perhaps doing housework or lifting something. You may find that you cannot walk as fast or as long as you did before. It is important to recognise this as early as possible and get checked by your doctor. If left untreated, it can get worse – for example, you may get breathless with very little activity or even while lying down.
2. Weight gain or swelling:
You may gain weight in your ankles, legs or your abdomen. This is caused by excess fluid which your heart is unable to process.
3. Fatigue:
You may feel like you have no energy even when you have not engaged in any physical activity. This kind of fatigue is different form the tiredness you feel at the end of the day.
These are the three main symptoms to look out for. You may have other symptoms which depend on the particular cause of your heart failure and how advanced your condition is.
If you are concerned that you have any of these symptoms, please contact your doctor for advice.
If you’re unsure about your symptoms, check out our heart failure symptom checker.
