Heart Failure: Symptoms and Causes

Heart failure or congestive heart failure is an emergency medical condition wherein the heart is not able to pump blood efficiently and has stopped working. It is a common health issue that is a leading cause of mortality worldwide. During heart failure, the blood often backs up and causes accumulation of fluids inside the lungs, thereby causing shortness of breath explains Dr. Sujay Shad, a leading heart specialist in Delhi. Different cardiac problems like hypertension or coronary artery disease can result in heart failure because of the gradual weakening of the heart.

Heart failure is life-threatening. If the heart problems are diagnosed and treated by a heart specialist for their early symptoms, the patient can live longer with an improved quality of life. Moreover, a heart-healthy diet, regular exercises, managing stress, and maintenance of ideal body weight can prevent conditions like obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and coronary artery disease that can cause heart failure.

If one is experiencing sudden sweat, shortness of breath, pain in the left area of the chest, painful breathing, pain in the heart, and shoulder pain these can be the signs of a heart problem. Consult the best heart doctor in Delhi, Dr. Sujay Shad to know more about effective treatments to prevent the risk of life-threatening conditions.

What are the symptoms of heart failure?

The signs and symptoms experienced of heart failure may vary from mild to severe and also it may be completely absent or often appear and disappear. The commonly occurring signs and symptoms found in most heart failure cases include:

1. Difficulty in breathing or shortness of breath: The person may have troubled breathing while resting, lying flat on the bed, or during exercise. As the body is not able to receive adequate levels of oxygen-rich blood and there is a backward flow of blood into the lungs which causes fluids to fill inside them, the patient experiences lung congestion or shortness of breath. If the patient is disturbed from his/her sleep and has to catch up breath, it is a sign that prompt medical attention is needed.

2. Fatigue and weakening of legs when the person is active: This is because the oxygen-rich blood is not being supplied to major muscles and organs of the body. Thus patients with heart failure have decreased ability to perform physical activities. Consult a heart doctor in Delhi to prevent the risk of complications, if experiencing these symptoms.

3. Urge to urinate while sleeping: When the patient is in his/her resting position, the gravity leads to more blood flow to the kidneys, resulting in more urine production and the need to urinate.

4. Weight gain and edema: As blood is not being pumped properly, the kidneys are not receiving enough blood to be filtered. Consequently, the extra fluids and water is held on by the body that results in edema or swelling of the ankles, abdomen, and legs. This can also cause weight gain.

5. Confusion, fainting, dizziness, and trouble concentrating: All these symptoms are related to mental health which gets impaired because enough oxygen-rich blood is not being received by the brain.

6. Palpitations: The patient may feel irregular or rapid heartbeats because the heart muscles are not able to pump blood with enough force. Thus the heart tries to beat harder to try supplying blood to major muscles and organs of the body for their normal functioning.

7. Loss of appetite, bloated stomach, nausea, persistent dryness, and hacking cough: It usually happens while the patient lays flat on the bed or due to lung congestion with extra fluids. Sometimes, the person may have a mucus discharge containing a tinge of blood.

8. Angina or sudden chest pain: If a heart attack has caused heart failure.

What causes heart failure?

Heart failure can be caused due to medical conditions that lead to damage of heart muscles and many other risk factors. Some common reasons for having heart failure include:

• Cardiomyopathy: It is a heart problem wherein the heart muscles get enlarged and damaged due to various reasons like pregnancy, smoking, viral infection, drug or alcohol abuse, and genetic factors.

• Coronary artery disease: The coronary artery that brings in oxygen-rich blood from the lungs to the heart gets affected due to the thickening of its inside wall or its hardening as a result of plaque build-up and deposition of fats. This leads to partially blocked or narrowing of arteries which limit the blood flow through it.

• Heart attack: It can occur due to complete blockage of the coronary arteries leading to permanent damage of heart muscles or dying of the heart muscle cells or congenital heart disease.

• Lifestyle problems: This includes obesity, diabetes, and hypertension, Arrhythmia including atrial fibrillation, Kidney disease, Cancer treatments using chemotherapy, Illicit use of narcotics and tobacco smoking.

• Heart Failure and Heart Transplant in Delhi (India)

A heart transplant is a life-saving surgery in which a failing heart is replaced with a healthy heart. This surgery is performed when people with heart issues are not able to get improved healthy with enough medications or other surgeries. A heart transplant is performed to correct heart problems like cardiomyopathy, coronary artery disease, heart valve disease, abnormal heart rhythms. A heart transplant is a major operation and must be performed by an expert Heart Transplant Doctor to prevent the risk of infection, immune rejection, and other severe side effects.

Dr. Sujay Shad is a Highly Experienced Heart Specialist and Heart Transplant Doctor in Delhi. He is an expert in performing life-saving operations pertaining to his field on the most high-risk patients. He is the first cardiac surgeon to successfully perform Heart Transplants in a private hospital in North India.

Some of the major surgical procedures undertaken by Dr. Sujay Shad are Heart Transplants, Coronary Bypasses, HOCM, Aortic Surgery, and Mitral Valve repairs. He also specializes in the comprehensive management of Heart Failure patients.

To know more about heart failure and transplant treatment, schedule an appointment with Dr. Sujay Shad, Heart Transplant Doctor in Delhi NCR.