Heart Failure
You may be firghtened
or upset to hear that you or someone in your family has been
told that they have heart failure. However,
with treatment and drugs amny people live full and active
lives.
What is heart failure?
Heart failure means that for some reason, your heart is not
pumping blood around the body as well as it used to. The most
common reason is that your heart muscle has been damaged for
example after a heart attack.
What causes heart failure?
There are lots of reasons why you might be diagosed with heart
failure. It can be sudden or it might happen slowly over months or
years.
Some causes of heart failure are:
What are the signs and symptoms of heart failure?
Not everyone experiences the same symptoms and everyone copes in
different ways. There are four different stages of heart failure so
your symptoms will vary from stage to stage.You might feel out of
breath if you are physically active or for some people even at
rest. You may also have swollen feet and ankles and feel very
tired.
How is heart failure diagnosed?
Your doctor will ask you questions about your medical history
and talk to you about what has caused your heart failure. The
reason for your condition will make a difference to how your
symptoms are controlled. You may need to have tests which may
include blood tests, an electrocardiogram (ECG) and an
echocardiogram.
How is heart failure treated?
Whilst there isn't a cure for
heart failure, the treatment to control symotoms has improved
dramatically. Your doctor will prescirbe drugs that will help
to control your blood pressure and help the pumping action of
your heart.
They will also give you advice about making changes to your
lifestyle which will help you to do all the things that you enjoy,
improve your condition and live a normal life. Some of the
things that you can do are:
- cut down on salt
- eat a healthy balanced diet
- stop smoking
- keep active
For more information about living with heart failure, order or
download our
Heart Failure Plan
If you are caring for
someone with a long term heart condition like heart
failure, it can be physically and emotinally demanding for you. It
is important that you look after yourself too. There are lots
of voluntary organisations that can help and support you.
You may also find it helpful to join a heart support group where
you can talk to other people with heart conditions. To find out
where your nearest heart support group is, please call the
Heart HelpLine on 0300 330
3311 (local rate number). More information
You may find some of the following booklets helpful:
Useful links
Heart Failure Matters
website - run by the European Society of
Cardiology (ESC) and the Heart Failure of the ESC
Got any questions about this page?
