WHAT IS HEART FAILURE ?
Heart failure can be a misunderstood term . Its simplest definition is that the heart is not functioning properly , whether because it has weakened and cannot pump enough blood and oxygen to the body ( systolic heart failure ) or because it does not fill with enough blood between beats ( diastolic heart failure ). “ In the most basic terms , it is a pump problem ,” says Mrs . Day . “ It doesn ’ t mean that the heart has failed . It ’ s not working as well as it should .” As cardiologist and medical director of advanced heart failure Dr . Robert Scott explains , “ The heart is a muscle and it becomes weakened after injury or some other insult to it or for genetic reasons . It really gradually loses its ability to pump enough blood to supply the body ’ s needs .”
Many health conditions can cause heart failure : obesity , smoking , not enough exercise , a heart attack , a virus , high blood pressure , or congenital heart defects , among other variables . “ There are lots of different ways to get heart failure , but the result is the same ,” Dr . Scott says . Symptoms of heart failure include shortness of breath , weight gain , or tiredness . Unfortunately , many people mistake these as symptoms for another condition , such as a cold or insomnia . “ There is not one flagrant symptom that shouts heart failure ,” Mrs . Day says . “ It ’ s very subtle .”
HEART FAILURE OCCURS WHEN THE HEART IS UNABLE TO PUMP ENOUGH BLOOD TO MEET THE BODY ’ S DEMANDS
DON ’ T IGNORE THE SIGNS
SHORTNESS OF BREATH
TROUBLE BREATHING
FATIGUE
SWELLING
5.1 MILLION PEOPLE
IN THE U . S . SUFFER FROM HEART FAILURE
OVER 1 MILLION
HEART FAILURE ADMISSIONS
NATIONALLY EACH YEAR
16 THE CATALYST May 16 | sw . org