CHF
Congestive heart failure, or simply heart failure, is a condition that occurs when the heart is unable to pump enough blood to meet the needs of the body's tissues. It generally occurs as a result of other forms of heart disease.
Symptoms of left-side heart failure may include:
- Fatigue and shortness of breath (but unlike the breathlessness of angina, which feels like a heavy weight pressing on the chest)
- Difficulty breathing at night, sometimes causing awakening
- Asthma-like wheezing or a dry hacking cough that worsens with lying down, but improves with sitting up or standing.
- Unintended weight loss
Symptoms of right-side heart failure may include:
- Fatigue
- Accumulation of fluid: first in the feet, next in the ankles and legs, and finally in the abdomen
- Enlargement of the liver
- Weight gain (although muscle mass is lost and appetite may be depressed, weight gain often occurs because salt and water are retained)