Heart health is a topic that’s near and dear to our – well – hearts! There are many common heart conditions such as a heart attack, coronary artery disease or atrial fibrillation (AFib) that can cause alarm. But each has different causes and slightly different warning signs from another condition: heart failure. For example, a heart attack occurs when there is a loss of blood supply to the heart, while heart failure is when the heart is unable to pump blood around the body efficiently. AFib is a heart arrhythmia, which means the heart beats in an irregular way. Coronary artery disease is the result of damaged or diseased blood vessels.
Heart failure, on the other hand, is a condition that develops when your heart can’t pump enough blood through your body to sustain daily activities. Although the term “heart failure” makes it sound like your heart has stopped working, that’s not the case. While a serious condition that needs medical care, heart failure is something than can be managed and treated with medication and/or lifestyle changes.
While many of the symptoms of each type of heart condition tend to overlap, such as chest pain or shortness of breath, all symptoms should cause you to seek medical help.
Causes of heart failure
Commonly caused by other medical conditions that damage the heart, such as coronary heart disease, heart inflammation, diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure or even an irregular heartbeat, heart failure is something that can happen suddenly or evolve over time.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates 6.2 million adults in the United States have heart failure.
Unlike a stroke or a heart attack, symptoms of heart failure are not always immediate, and because they can come on slow, in many cases are not initially life-threatening.
What’s happening?
With heart failure, because the heart is unable to meet the body’s needs for blood and oxygen, the heart tries to compensate by enlarging, developing extra muscle mass and pumping faster. Blood vessels narrow to help keep blood pressure up and the body begins to divert blood away from certain tissues and organs.
But these are all temporary fixes that mask the problem instead of helping it. Eventually, this results in fatigue, breathing problems or other symptoms that should prompt a call or visit to your physician.
The body’s compensation mechanisms help explain why some people may not become aware of their condition until years after their heart begins to decline, which is another reason regular visits to the doctor are a good idea.
Symptoms
Symptoms of heart failure include:
- Shortness of breath during daily activities,
- Having trouble breathing when lying down,
- Weight gain with swelling in the feet, legs, ankles or stomach, and
- Generally feeling tired or weak.
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