Heart failure Information

If you have heart failure, it's important to look after your own health and wellbeing, with support from those involved in your care

This includes having a healthy diet, exercising regularly, stopping smoking and drinking less alcohol and, where needed, taking medication consistently.
Above all, being as informed as possible, often sharing experiences with others and building healthy daily routines makes the biggest difference.

What is heart failure

Heart Failure is a long term condition where your heart struggles to pump blood around the body which means the body's needs are not met.

Due to this it may build up blood in different parts of your body, most of the time, this collects in the lungs, legs and feet.

This video from the British Heart Foundation explains the symptoms and treatment for Heart Failure.

Congestive heart failure causes fluid to build up in your body because your heart isn’t pumping well.

What are the Symptoms of Heart Failure?

Some of the Symptoms of heart failure can include:

Chest Pain
Fatigue whilst active
Shortness of breath throughout the day and waking up with at night
Swelling in ankles, stomach and legs
Unexplained weight gain
A dry cough

Loss of appetite
Needing to urinate whilst resting in bed at night
Palpitations in your heart
Irregular heart beat
Fluid in lungs
Malnutrition

Exercise

Exercising with heart failure can reduce the risk of being hospitalised. Your muscles and lungs will work better decreasing the straing on your heart. Watch the below videos for more information.