Symptoms of congestive heart failure

What are symptoms of congestive heart failure? Symptoms may begin suddenly after a heart attack.  But often the symptoms of heart failure begin slowly and build. You may notice being short of breath when active.  If untreated, the symptoms will probably get worse so that you have difficulty breathing when resting.  You may need to sleep on extra pillows at night because you can’t get enough oxygen. 

According to the National Institute of Health website, symptoms of heart failure include “cough, fatigue, weakness, faintness, loss of appetite, need to urinate at night, pulse that feels fast or irregular, or a sensation of feeling the heart beat (palpitations), shortness of breath when you are active or after you lie down, swollen (enlarged) liver or abdomen, swollen feet and ankles, waking up from sleep after a couple of hours due to shortness of breath, weight gain.”http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000158.htm

 

For more information about symptoms of congestive heart failure, see http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000158.htm