Heart Failure

The symptoms of heart failure depend on which side of your heart is affected and how serious your condition has become. Most symptoms are caused by reduced blood flow to your organs and fluid buildup in your body.

Fluid buildup happens because the flow of blood through your heart is too slow. As a result, blood backs up in the vessels that return the blood to your heart. Fluid may leak from the blood vessels and collect in the tissues of your body, causing swelling (edema) and other problems or in the lungs causing severe breathing problems.

• Feeling short of breath (like you cannot get enough air) when you do things like walking or climbing stairs. This may be one of the first symptoms you notice
• Swelling and weight gain from fluid in your ankles, lower legs, or abdomen (belly)
• Swelling in the veins of your neck
• Difficulty sleeping when lying flat
• Coughing
• Fatigue or weakness even at rest
• Nausea and loss of appetite
• Needing to urinate (pee) often 

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)
• Cardiomyopathy
• Coronary artery disease
• Heart attack
• Heart valve diseases
• High blood pressure
• Certain severe lung diseases, such as severe COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) or a history of large or multiple blood clots in your lung
• Obesity
• Endocarditis
• Congenital heart defects or other types of heart diseases that you are born with

Heart failure can happen at any age. It happens to both men and women, but men often develop it at a younger age than women. Your chance of developing heart failure increases if:

• You’re 65 years of age or older. Aging can weaken and stiffen your heart muscle.
• Your family health history includes relatives who have or have had heart failure.
• You have changes in your genes that affect your heart tissue.
• You have changes in your genes that affect your heart tissue.
• You have habits that can harm your heart, including:
  • Smoking
  • Eating foods high in fat, cholesterol and sodium (salt)
  • Having an inactive lifestyle
  • Alcohol use disorder (AUD)
  • Illegal drug use
• You have other medical conditions that can affect your heart, including:
  • Any heart or blood vessel conditions, including high blood pressure
  • Serious lung diseases
  • Infection, such as HIV or COVID-19 and other viruses
  • Obesity
  • Diabetes
  • Sleep apnea
  • Chronic kidney disease
  • Anemia
  • Iron overload disease
  • Cancer treatments that can harm your heart, such as radiation and chemotherapy
• You are African American. African Americans are more likely to develop heart failure and have more serious cases at younger ages than people of other races. Factors such as discrimination, income, education, and geographic region can also affect their risk of heart failure.
• Other problems – Fluid buildup and reduced blood flow to your organs can lead to serious problems, including:
  • Breathing problems from fluid in and around your lungs
  • Other heart conditions, such as irregular heartbeat and sudden cardiac arrest
  • Pulmonary hypertension
  • Kidney or liver damage including cirrhosis
  • Malnutrition if fluid buildup makes eating uncomfortable or if your stomach and intestines do not get enough blood flow to generate good appetites or digest food properly

To find out if you have heart failure, your doctor will:

• Ask about your medical history, including your symptoms
• Ask about your family health history, including relatives who have had heart failure
• Do a physical exam
• Will likely order heart tests and blood tests, including:
  • Brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) test.
  • A wide array of imaging tests such as echocardiography, nuclear stress tests, MRI and CT as well as cardiac catheterization (all these tests can check the size, makeup and function of your heart and can lead to an accurate diagnosis)

You may be able to prevent or delay heart failure if you:

• Work with your doctors to develop and closely follow care plans for any underlying heart conditions
• Take all your medicines as prescribed
• Work with your providers to manage any health conditions that increase your risk of developing heart disease and heart failure
• Make healthy changes in your eating, exercise, and other daily habits to help prevent heart disease