How do you feel when you have heart failure?

Chest pain. Fainting or severe weakness. Rapid or irregular heartbeat associated with shortness of breath, chest pain or fainting. Sudden, severe shortness of breath and coughing up white or pink, foamy mucus.
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Can you have heart failure and not know it?

If you have heart failure, you may not have any symptoms, or the symptoms may range from mild to severe. Symptoms can be constant or can come and go. Heart failure symptoms are related to the changes that occur to your heart and body, and the severity depends on how weak your heart is.
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What are the signs of worsening heart failure?

Signs of Worsening Heart Failure
  • Shortness of breath.
  • Feeling dizzy or lightheaded.
  • Weight gain of three or more pounds in one day.
  • Weight gain of five pounds in one week.
  • Unusual swelling in the legs, feet, hands, or abdomen.
  • A persistent cough or chest congestion (the cough may be dry or hacking)
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Where do you feel pain with heart failure?

Symptoms can include pain or discomfort in one or both arms, the back, neck, jaw or stomach. Shortness of breath. This can occur with or without chest discomfort.
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What does heart failure fatigue feel like?

People with heart failure may feel constantly tired and have difficulty performing daily activities such as walking, climbing stairs or carrying groceries.
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Heart Foundation | How does heart failure make you feel



Does heart failure make you sleep a lot?

You're more likely to feel tired all of the time with advanced heart failure. Swelling. When your heart can't move blood through your body, it can build up in certain body parts.
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Does heart failure affect sleep?

Complications of heart failure can affect your sleep. For example: Chest pain and discomfort make it hard to relax and fall or stay asleep. Lying in bed can make you feel short of breath.
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What are the first signs of a weak heart?

Signs of a Weakened Heart Muscle
  • Shortness of breath (also known as dyspnea), particularly when you lie down or exert yourself.
  • Chest pain, especially a heavy sensation in your chest indicative of heart failure caused by a heart attack.
  • Fatigue.
  • Swelling of the legs, ankles, and feet (also known as edema)
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What are the 4 signs of heart failure?

There are many possible symptoms of heart failure. The most common are:
  • Shortness of breath.
  • Feeling tired (fatigue).
  • Less able to exercise.
  • Weak legs.
  • Waking up to urinate.
  • Swollen feet, ankles, lower legs and abdomen (edema).
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How do I know if my heart is OK?

Diagnostic tests could include blood tests, cardiac CT scan, cardiac MRI, cardiac catheterization, coronary angiography, echocardiography, stress testing, electrocardiogram and others.
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Is heart failure painful?

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.
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How quickly does heart failure progress?

Symptoms can develop quickly (acute heart failure) or gradually over weeks or months (chronic heart failure).
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Are heart failure symptoms worse at night?

Main symptoms

The most common symptoms of heart failure are: breathlessness – this may occur after activity or at rest; it may be worse when you're lying down, and you may wake up at night needing to catch your breath.
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What does heart failure feel like in a woman?

“Instead they may experience shortness of breath, pressure or pain in the lower chest or upper abdomen, dizziness, lightheadedness or fainting, upper back pressure or extreme fatigue.” Even when the signs are subtle, the consequences can be deadly, especially if the victim doesn't get help right away.
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Does heart failure go away?

Although there is no cure for heart failure, it's important to manage the condition with medication and lifestyle changes to prevent it from worsening. In order to improve life expectancy while living with congestive heart failure, you should know the different stages of the disease and what to do after diagnosis.
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Can I live normal with heart failure?

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. How does a healthy heart work?
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Can you recover from heart failure?

There is no cure for heart failure. Damage to your heart muscle may improve but will not go away. There are many causes of heart failure. Common causes of heart failure are coronary artery disease, heart valve disease, high blood pressure and cardiomyopathy.
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How does heart failure affect the body?

Your body gets less oxygen, and you might notice symptoms like shortness of breath, swelling in your legs, and fluid buildup. Your body tries to keep the blood it has to supply your heart and brain. This leaves less for organs like your kidneys and liver. A lack of enough blood can damage these organs.
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What is the first stage of heart failure?

Common early symptoms of heart failure include: shortness of breath. difficulty exercising. fatigue and weakness.
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What is the best side to sleep on for your heart?

If you sleep on your right side, the pressure of your body smashes up against the blood vessels that return to your ticker, but “sleeping on your left side with your right side not squished is supposed to potentially increase blood flow back to your heart.” And anything you can do to help your most important organ pump ...
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Does laying down make heart failure worse?

You feel tightness in your chest. You feel tired when you walk. You need to stop a lot when you walk. It gets worse when you lie flat, and it may wake you up at night.
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How should you sleep with heart failure?

Sleeping on your right side may be the best option for people with heart failure. Although some people think sleeping on your right side could restrict blood flow back to the heart, there's not enough evidence to prove that it's harmful.
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What does a heart failure cough sound like?

You may experience a persistent cough or wheezing (a whistling sound in the lungs or laboured breathing) due to your heart failure. The wheezing is similar to asthma but has a different cause in heart failure.
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Do oxygen levels drop with heart failure?

With heart failure, your heart becomes a weaker pump. Over time it becomes less effective at pumping oxygen-rich blood through your body. This may cause your oxygen levels to drop. When oxygen levels drop, you may become short of breath or winded.
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What is a cardiac cough?

If you have a long-term cough with congestive heart failure, that cough is something to pay attention to. It's called a cardiac cough and it may indicate that: Your heart condition is getting worse. Treatment isn't working as well as it needs to be. You're having side effects from your heart-failure medication.
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