If you have these 4 symptoms, you may have heart failure

The article was professionally consulted by Doctor General Internal Medicine - Department of Medical Examination & Internal Medicine - Vinmec Hai Phong International General Hospital.

On average, a person's life is about 80 years, the heart must beat more than 3 billion times. Working continuously without stopping like that, heart failure is inevitable. So what are the symptoms of heart failure, how to recognize it for timely treatment?

The majority of patients with heart failure of any grade present with dyspnea. According to clinical experience, many doctors often rely on specific clinical symptoms to diagnose heart failure rather than dividing them into grades 1, 2, 3, 4. Thus, corresponding to the severity of the disease, the levels The degree of dyspnea is classified as follows:
Grade 0: No dyspnea, even with strenuous exercise. Grade 1: Shortness of breath on exertion. Example: The patient goes up the stairs to the 1st floor and is fine, but from the 2nd floor onwards, he finds it difficult to breathe. Level 2: Shortness of breath without exertion, panting even with light work. For example, just holding a potted plant will find it difficult to breathe. Level 3: Doing everyday things such as brushing teeth, washing face, also having difficulty breathing. Grade 4: Shortness of breath even when doing nothing, even when lying down. With the above symptom classification, doctors will diagnose the disease more easily. However, shortness of breath can also be caused by other respiratory conditions. So what is the difference between shortness of breath in heart failure? Patients can distinguish as follows:
Shortness of breath due to heart failure occurs on both inhalation and exhalation. Shortness of breath due to bronchial asthma is mainly during expiration.

Although edema is often mistaken for kidney disease, in heart failure it is not so much fluid retention. So what are signs of edema caused by heart failure and how to recognize it? Depending on the stage of heart failure, the symptoms of edema will be different, specifically as follows:
In the mild stage, the patient feels heavy eyelids when waking up, the face is slightly rounded. In the afternoon, the feet will be slightly swollen. Determined by, using your finger to press the skin of the foot, when lifting your hand, the skin is still concave. In more severe stages, symptoms of edema manifest more and more clearly, such as feeling heavy, abdominal distension, indigestion.

The cause of edema in patients with heart failure is because when the heart is impaired, the blood flow is reduced, the venous blood returning to the heart is stagnant. As a result, the capillaries swell and cause fluid to leak through the capillary walls into adjacent organs, causing edema.

Persistent cough is also one of the warning symptoms of heart failure, especially heart failure due to blood pressure problems or open heart valves. Coughs occur at night, or when the patient exerts himself, usually a dry cough, sometimes coughing up bloody sputum.
However, this dry cough must be accompanied by many other factors, such as shortness of breath, high blood pressure, heart valve disease. If the patient only has a dry cough without hypertension, no valvular disease or normal ECG results, this is not enough to conclude heart failure. At this point, it is more likely that the cough comes from a cause other than cardiovascular.
Cough caused by heart failure has the following symptoms: First, if you are sitting and suddenly lie down, you will have a cough. Second, when you exert yourself, you will cough. If such symptoms are present frequently, it is most likely that heart failure is the main cause.

Fatigue due to heart failure can be confused with other diseases. However, this fatigue affects more and more daily life.
If you pay attention, the patient will find everyday activities to be done easily but gradually find it difficult and quickly exhausted. Even lighter, simpler tasks such as walking, climbing stairs, ... also make patients quickly tired.
The reason is that when the heart is weak, the amount of blood pumped each time is deficient, resulting in insufficient blood supply to all organs in the body. It is the anemia that makes the patient always feel tired, making daily activities difficult. In addition, the patient may also have symptoms of anemia, such as weakness, memory loss, dizziness, headache, ...
Hope the above information can help patients understand clearly. about “what is heart failure” and its symptoms.
Early recognition of the symptoms of heart failure is the key to effective treatment and avoiding dangerous cardiovascular events. Understanding this, Vinmec Hospital has implemented the Heart Failure Examination Package. This is an effective measure to help you and your loved ones detect the risk of disease early, so that doctors can advise on a suitable treatment plan for your health condition.

The examination package is specially designed for customers with risk factors for heart failure, indicated for medical examination and when the customer needs it. Services in the Heart Failure Risk Check Package include: Cardiologist visit, echocardiogram, electrocardiogram and other necessary tests.