Askep CHF

Askep CHF

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)