Fatigue, shortness of breath, night cough… watch out, it could be heart failure!

The heart is one of the most valuable organs, which is worth taking care of in advance, i.e. avoiding stress, eating right and giving up all stimulants. Then it will certainly repay us with proper and long-term operation! However, if there is coronary artery disease, it is only a short way to heart failure. What is this disease and how to live with it?

We talk about insufficiency when the heart does not pump enough blood. It is most often evidenced by the frequent feeling of fatigue, swollen ankles, night cough, drowsiness after eating, shortness of breath during exercise. This disease has grown to epidemic proportions over the years, especially in Europe and America. Today’s medicine, however, allows for effective fight against the symptoms of this disease.

In most cases, heart failure is caused by damage to the heart muscle after coronary artery disease. This happens in as many as 70% of cases! However, this is not the only possible cause, because it is also caused by:

• congenital heart defects,
• heart muscle diseases,
• Hypertension,
• Damage and diseases of valves,
• atrial fibrillation,
• Infection of valves or heart muscle.

In Europe alone, as many as 15 million people suffer from heart failure. People over 60 years of age and those who have had heart infections, lung and kidney diseases, heart attacks, as well as people suffering from hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism are at higher risk of the disease. Incorrect nutrition and errors in taking medications for failure and additional painkillers also aggravate the problem.

Unusual symptoms

Heart failure does not mean that the symptoms are only related to this organ. Among the strange symptoms of this disease, we find, for example, fatigue, intolerance to physical exercise, edema (resulting from water retention in the body), and even poor appetite, more frequent urination at night, constipation, dizziness, a feeling of fullness in the stomach, and sometimes memory loss.

This is because the blood pumped by the heart contains oxygen, which fuels the cells. When there is not enough blood, the cells are starved of oxygen and as a result do not function as they should.

How to function with heart failure?

First, perform all the tests ordered by the doctor that will allow you to get to the cause of the disease. It’s important to control your heart and find out what’s causing the problem. In addition, a hygienic lifestyle is recommended, i.e. proper nutrition, regular exercise, avoiding stress, infections and colds, as well as limiting salt intake. Treatment with appropriate drugs must be adapted to the stage of the disease, and sometimes it is necessary to implant devices that stimulate the work of the heart.