Heart failure is serious. When the heart muscle becomes too weak or too stiff to pump blood to the rest of the body, symptoms begin to appear. It happens when your heart muscle can no longer function properly, and it’s a condition called cardiomyopathy. Here are a few signs of heart failure that need immediate medical attention:
- Shortness of breath
- Chest tightness
- Fatigue
- Swelling in the legs and ankles
- Nausea and vomiting
“Although heart failure is a severe problem, it’s also a chronic problem, which means we have time to treat it and keep it from progressing,” says Raul Flores, MD, an advanced heart failure specialist at Atlantic Health System. “We get patients plugged into the right specialists who can provide the appropriate treatments to restore heart function.”
Two main causes of heart failure
- Problems with the arteries that send blood to the heart (ischemic)
- Problems with the heart muscle (non-ischemic)
How doctors diagnose heart failure
If you’re concerned, talk to your primary care doctor. They can refer you to a general cardiologist who will run a few tests, including an electrocardiogram (EKG) and an echocardiogram. If your cardiologist believes heart failure is present, the next step would be an evaluation by a heart failure specialist.
“By the time a patient arrives in my office, they’ve had a basic diagnostic workup from their cardiologist,” says Dr. Flores. “We take that information and add specific screenings like genetic testing, a cardiac MRI, cardiac catheterization, and a stress test to get a complete picture of heart function.”
Dr. Flores also explains that a standard bloodwork panel from your primary care doctor doesn’t always shine a light on cardiomyopathy.
How to prevent heart failure
With the right medical care, most people can significantly reduce their risk of heart failure.
“The five-year mortality rate of someone living with heart failure is about 50%,” says Dr. Flores. “With the right medications and interventions, we can bring that down to about 10%.”
He also notes that lifestyle plays an important role. Eating a nutritional diet, minimizing salt intake, doing physical activity, and getting adequate sleep are critically important, too.
Taking heart failure signs and symptoms seriously
“We order very specific tests for a 360 approach to assessing heart function,” says Dr. Flores. “We’re often the difference between managing heart disease from a doctor’s office rather than the emergency room when someone is in critical condition.”
If you are experiencing shortness of breath or related symptoms, call your doctor or go to the nearest emergency room.
Be proactive about your health
Staying up to date on annual wellness exams and screenings is important. So too, are the occasional trips to specialists to address sleep issues or any other health concerns that are nagging you.
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