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What Are the Signs and Symptoms of Heart Failure?
The most common signs and symptoms of heart failure are:
- Shortness of breath or trouble breathing
- Fatigue (tiredness)
- Swelling in the ankles, feet, legs, abdomen, and veins in the neck
All of these symptoms are the result of fluid buildup in your body. When symptoms start, you may feel tired and short of breath after routine physical effort, like climbing stairs.
As your heart grows weaker, symptoms get worse. You may begin to feel tired and short of breath after getting dressed or walking across the room. Some people have shortness of breath while lying flat.
Fluid buildup from heart failure also causes weight gain, frequent urination, and a cough that's worse at night and when you're lying down. This cough may be a sign of acute pulmonary edema (e-DE-ma). This is a condition in which too much fluid builds up in your lungs. The condition requires emergency treatment.
Heart Failure Signs and Symptoms
The image shows the major signs and symptoms of heart failure.
Have questions about heart disease in women? Join The Heart Truth®, Million Hearts™, the American College of Cardiology, and Healthfinder.gov for a World Heart Day Twitter chat on September 28, at 1 p.m. eastern time. Learn more about the history of women’s heart disease research and ask live experts your questions. Go to www.twitter.com, and search for #HeartChat to join the chat.
Clinical trials are research studies that explore whether a medical strategy, treatment, or device is safe and effective for humans. To find clinical trials that are currently underway for Heart Failure, visit www.clinicaltrials.gov.
August 29, 2012
NIH Media Availability: Protein linked to increased risk of heart failure and death in older adults
A protein known as galectin-3 can identify people at higher risk of heart failure, according to new research supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), part of the National Institutes of Health.
The NHLBI updates Health Topics articles on a biennial cycle based on a thorough review of research findings and new literature. The articles also are updated as needed if important new research is published. The date on each Health Topics article reflects when the content was originally posted or last revised.
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