Early Signs of Heart Failure: Don’t Ignore These Symptoms!
By Li Wenhan
If any disease goes unnoticed or remains unknown, it can be a missed opportunity for diagnosis and treatment, resulting in the worsening of the condition. One such condition is chronic heart failure, which is often subtle in its early stages and not easily detectable. This is particularly concerning for families with elderly individuals who may already have underlying health issues. Therefore, it is crucial to closely monitor the daily activities of elderly family members and promptly seek medical attention if any suspicious symptoms arise.
Reduced Activity Tolerance
The sudden onset of fatigue, weakness, and a lack of motivation during the day can be indicators of heart failure. Daily tasks that were once simple may become challenging, such as walking the dog or climbing stairs. Individuals who typically enjoy exercising may find themselves more exhausted than usual, experiencing breathlessness or shortness of breath.
Signs to Watch Out For:
- Sudden fatigue and weakness
- Inability to perform previously manageable tasks
- Feeling excessively tired during exercise
- Shortness of breath or dyspnea
Anorexia, Depression, and More
Heart failure disrupts normal systemic circulation, leading to blood stasis in the gastrointestinal tract and gastrointestinal dysfunction. Consequently, patients may experience a loss of appetite, inability to eat, indigestion, bloating, and nausea after meals.
Furthermore, heart failure patients are prone to mental and psychological issues, particularly depression. They often exhibit apathy or dull expressions.
Symptoms worth noting:
- Lack of appetite
- Inability to eat
- Indigestion and bloating after meals
- Feelings of nausea
- Depressive mood and expression
Chronic Cough and Lower Extremity Edema
Heart failure can cause increased pulmonary venous pressure, resulting in obstructed pulmonary circulation and increased fluid in the alveoli. This often leads to a chronic cough, particularly at night, which can be relieved when sitting or standing and worsens when lying flat. Patients may also experience dyspnea, dizziness, and palpitations.
Additionally, swollen calves, ankles, and feet are common symptoms of heart failure, primarily caused by fluid buildup due to reduced kidney function. It is important to note that although patients may experience swelling, they might not feel any pain, and the swelling tends to subside after rest. Sometimes, sudden weight gain may be the only noticeable sign.
Key symptoms of heart failure:
- Nighttime cough with increased sputum production
- Relief from cough when sitting or standing
- Discomfort when lying flat
- Swollen calves, ankles, and feet
- Sudden weight gain
Sleep Disorders and A Call for Early Intervention
Heart failure reduces cardiac output, leading to inadequate oxygen supply to the brain, which can affect normal sleep patterns. Additionally, heart failure patients are more prone to “central sleep apnea,” where they wake up at night due to episodes of breath-holding, further compromising sleep quality. Some heart failure patients may experience excessive sleepiness caused by thrombus-induced cerebral infarction.
Signs of sleep disturbances:
- Difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep
- Waking up frequently during the night
- Unrefreshing sleep
- Daytime sleepiness
Heart Failure: Not Just a Disease, but a Syndrome
Heart failure is the advanced stage of cardiovascular disease, characterized by its progressive nature and high in-hospital mortality rate. To improve the survival rate and overall quality of life for heart failure patients, it is crucial to raise awareness and diligently monitor any changes in the body. Individuals with underlying cardiovascular conditions, diabetes, obesity, or a family history of related heart issues are at a higher risk of developing heart failure. Therefore, it is recommended to avoid strenuous physical exertion and emotional stress when any abnormalities are detected. Seeking medical attention and undergoing examinations like electrocardiograms under the guidance of healthcare professionals is imperative for accurate diagnosis and individualized treatment.
reduced activity tolerance
The patient suddenly felt tired and weak recently, and was lazy during the day. Some simple daily tasks started to fail, and suddenly I couldn’t do what I could do in the past, such as walking the dog, going up and down the stairs, etc. If you are a person who loves exercise, it is obvious that you will feel more tired than usual when you exercise normally, and you will have shortness of breath or dyspnea.
Lazy during the day (photoAC)
Anorexia
Heart failure disrupts normal systemic circulation, can cause blood stasis in the gastrointestinal tract, and lead to bowel dysfunction. Patients may show lack of appetite, inability to eat, indigestion after eating, always feeling bloated, and wanting to vomit.
Depression
The mental and psychological problems of heart disease patients in my country are very serious, and heart failure patients are more likely to show depression and mental illness, often showing apathetic or even dull expressions.
chronic cough
In patients with heart failure, due to the increased pulmonary venous pressure, the pulmonary circulation is obstructed, and the exudate in the alveoli increases, which in turn causes coughing. It is characterized by a pronounced cough at night, which is relieved by sitting or standing, and feels particularly comfortable when lying flat. When coughing, the production of sputum increases. In addition, patients will also have symptoms such as dyspnea, dizziness, and palpitations.
lower extremity edema
Swollen calves, ankles and feet are common symptoms of heart failure, caused mainly by fluid build-up as a result of heart failure and reduced kidney function. It is worth noting that although there is swelling, it is difficult for the patient to feel the pain, and it can be relieved and disappear after lying down and resting. Sometimes patients do not notice the problem of swelling, but find a sudden increase in weight, and they should also be warned.
sleep disorder
When heart failure occurs, cardiac output decreases, and brain cells fall into a state of hypoxia, which affects normal sleep to some extent. At the same time, patients with heart failure are also more prone to “central sleep apnea”, waking up at night due to holding their breath, which reduces the quality of sleep. In addition, some heart failure patients suffering from thrombus-induced cerebral infarction collapse, and the patients tend to experience “sleepiness” instead.
Sleep Disorders (photoAC)
Heart failure is a “syndrome”
Heart failure is the terminal stage of cardiovascular disease, which is progressive, and the in-hospital mortality rate of patients with heart failure is high. In order to improve the survival rate and the quality of life of patients with heart failure, it is necessary to strengthen the awareness and attention to heart failure. Early detection and early intervention is the key to a good curative effect.
Heart failure is not a specific disease, but a “syndrome”. Individuals with underlying cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity and other risk factors, as well as a family history of cardiomyopathy or myocardial infarction in the past are more likely to develop heart failure. Therefore, you should pay close attention to changes in your body. Once abnormalities occur, you must first avoid heavy physical activity and mood swings in order to avoid excessive pressure on the heart. Next, you should go to the hospital for an electrocardiogram and other exams is time to understand the situation, and under the guidance of a doctor Make individual adjustments.
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