“Heart failure doesn’t mean the heart just stops, but that it’s not working right, and you’re not breathing right,” says cardiologist, who specializes in heart failure and transplant cardiology at Hackensack University Medical Center.
Top 4 Signs.
- Shortness of breath when you aren’t exercising or doing strenuous activity.
- Difficulty breathing when lying down (heart failure causes fluid below the chest to press on the lungs)
- Unexplained swelling, especially in the legs and feet (because the heart doesn’t have enough power to efficiently move blood through the body)
- Tiredness or fatigue
“In some cases, there might also be chest pain and palpitations with early heart failure,” adds who founded Hackensack’s Heart Failure Program in 2000, noting that symptoms depend on whether your heart is too weak or too stiff. Either problem can cause heart failure.
Confirming the Diagnosis.
Though older age—as well as chronic high blood pressure, prior heart attack or family history of heart disease—places you at greater risk of developing heart failure, many are surprised to learn that young people are not immune to the condition.
“Younger people find they can’t run anymore or can’t go up the stairs quickly—that something has changed dramatically,” Dr. Berkowitz explains. Breathing is almost always affected. Some patients can’t talk in full sentences.
Confirming the diagnosis typically involves several tests. First is a BNP blood test, which others developed about 20 years ago. It looks for a biomarker in blood called B-type peptide, which is released when the heart is under stress. A BNP test can tell the difference between heart failure and pneumonia, despite looking similar on X-rays and producing similar symptoms.
Other heart failure testing can include an echocardiogram (often dubbed an “echo”), which uses ultrasound to produce images of your heart as it beats. Additionally, an electrocardiogram, or EKG, may be done to track the electrical impulses of your heart, measuring rhythm, strength and timing.
If you experience one or more early signs of heart failure, Dr. Berkowitz urges you to see your primary care doctor or a cardiologist. Early identification is the most important thing, he says. Heart failure is a very common disease, but we have great treatments for it, and you shouldn’t be afraid.
If you've ever seen a movie where an actor has a heart attack, you've probably seen them clutch their chest, eyes rolling back, groaning in the severe pain before they collapse onto the floor.
However, a Hollywood heart attack can be different from a real one.
The pain you experience from a heart attack may be much less dramatic — and it may not even be very painful at all. If you're having a heart attack, you already know to call 9-1-1 right away. But if you don't have the telltale sign of sudden chest pain that everyone is taught to recognize, it can be confusing. This is called a silent heart attack. It means you don't even know you're having one. But it's still dangerous — and even life-threatening.
How Can a Heart Attack Be Silent?
A silent heart attack is just like any other — and just as damaging. Your heart needs oxygen-rich blood to function. If plaque (which consists of fat, cholesterol, and other substances) builds up in the arteries that carry blood to the heart, this blood flow can be significantly or completely cut off.
The longer your heart doesn’t have blood flow, the more damage that occurs. Because silent heart attacks may go unnoticed, they can cause a significant amount of damage. And without treatment, they can be deadly.
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