Heart Failure
What is Heart Failure?
Heart failure sounds scary, but it doesn't mean your heart has stopped working. It means your heart isn't pumping blood around your body as well as it should. Think of it like a water pump that's become a bit weak or stiff - it still works, but not as strongly as before.
Your heart might become too weak to pump properly, or it might become too stiff to fill with blood easily. This is sometimes called congestive heart failure, though doctors don't use this name much anymore.
Heart failure can happen to anyone, but it's more common as people get older. It's a long-term condition that usually gets gradually worse over time. While it can't usually be cured completely, the symptoms can often be controlled for many years with the right treatment.
What Are the Symptoms?
The main signs of heart failure are:
- Being out of breath - this might happen during activity or even when you're resting
- Feeling very tired most of the time and finding any exercise exhausting
- Feeling dizzy or faint
- Swollen ankles and legs - this happens because fluid builds up in your body
Some people also notice:
- A cough that won't go away
- A fast heartbeat
- Feeling dizzy
These symptoms can appear suddenly (called acute heart failure) or build up slowly over weeks or months (called chronic heart failure).
When Should You See a Doctor?
Speak to your GP if you have any of these symptoms that keep happening or are getting worse over time.
Call 999 immediately or go to A&E if you suddenly develop very severe symptoms, especially if you're struggling to breathe or have chest pain.
What Causes Heart Failure?
Heart failure usually happens when several problems affect your heart at the same time. Common causes include:
- Coronary heart disease - when the blood vessels supplying your heart get blocked with fatty deposits
- High blood pressure - this makes your heart work harder over time
- Problems with your heart muscle
- Heart rhythm problems like an irregular heartbeat
- Damaged heart valves
- Heart problems you're born with
Sometimes other conditions like being very overweight, not having enough iron in your blood, drinking too much alcohol, or having an overactive thyroid can also lead to heart failure.
How is Heart Failure Treated?
Treatment aims to control your symptoms and slow down how quickly the condition gets worse. Your treatment will depend on what's causing your heart failure.
Common treatments include:
- Lifestyle changes - eating healthily, exercising regularly, and stopping smoking
- Medicines - many people need to take 2 or 3 different types
- Devices - small machines implanted in your chest to help control your heartbeat
- Surgery - like bypass operations or even heart transplants in severe cases
Most people need treatment for life, though sometimes heart failure can be cured if there's a specific problem that can be fixed, like damaged heart valves.
Living with Heart Failure
Heart failure is a serious condition that will usually get slowly worse over time. However, it's very hard to predict how it will affect each person - some people stay stable for many years.
With the right treatment and support, many people with heart failure can still live fulfilling lives.
Based on NHS.uk guidance. Written by Dr Krishnan Pasupathi, NHS GP.
Before you act on anything here
This page is general information, written to help you understand — it is not personal medical advice and it cannot tell you what is right for you. Talk to your own GP, pharmacist or nurse about your own health.
- Need help now but it's not an emergency? Call NHS 111 or use 111.nhs.uk.
- Emergency? Call 999 or go to A&E.