Heart Failure Facts
- Around 1 million people in the UK are living with heart failure and the long term prognosis for people that are living with it isn't good. You don't get cured of heart failure presently, you live with it as well as you can but it is a degenerative condition.
- There are two main types of heart failure, LVSD - Left Ventricular Systolic Dysfunction and HFPEF - heart failure with preserved ejection fraction .
- LVSD (or HFREF) is where the body does not pump blood around the body properly. This is what I have. Basically my heart cannot pump the blood in the heart back out fully so I am prone to water retention which in turn can cause my major organs to start shutting down amongst other problems.
- HFPEF is where the heart is able to pump blood round the body but has problems relaxing enough to be able to take blood in in the first place. This type of heart failure is much more difficult to diagnose.
Signs of HeaRt Failure
The following list is by no means exhaustive and if you have any of these symptoms it does not necessarily mean you have heart failure! Please speak to your GP if you are worried. The internet is a wonderful tool but it is in no way a substitute for the experience and knowledge of a well trained medical practitioner! I had all of the symptoms below yet it still took me weeks to go to the doctor despite my wife and son getting increasingly concerned. If I hadn't gone when I did I very much doubt I'd still be alive now.
- Shortness of breath during normal daily activities like going up stairs.
- Having trouble breathing when lying down.
- Weight gain with swelling in the feet, legs, ankles, or stomach.
- Generally feeling tired or weak.
- Loss of appetite
