Pumping Marvellous

What is heart failure?

It does not mean your heart is about to stop. Heart failure is an unfortunate phrase that describes a set of conditions. The Pumping Marvellous Foundation prefers to call heart failure, HF.

A pre-diagnosis of heart failure often shows several common symptoms.

Our national awareness campaign is called BEAT. BEAT is an acronym that highlights the most common symptoms of heart failure.

B reathlessness

E xhaustion

A nkle swelling

T ime to speak to your GP Surgery

In many cases, but not all, there will be a reason why a person has heart failure; these are also listed on this page. However, sometimes a cause may not be known, which is called idiopathic.

Your healthcare team, GP, and their Practice Team must recognise the symptoms of heart failure. A simple blood test called an NT-proBNP can be used to rule out heart failure.

Currently, in the UK, if this blood test shows a level above 400, you should be referred within six weeks for further tests and investigations, including an ECG, ECHO scan or MRI scan. If the level exceeds 2000, you should be urgently referred for additional tests and investigations, including an ECG, ECHO scan or MRI scan within 2 weeks of the blood test result.

Unless you have had a heart scan by an ECHO or MRI interpreted by a specialist, you do not have a diagnosis of heart failure.

Once a specialist has interpreted your tests and investigations, only then will a cardiologist specialising in heart failure provide you with a diagnosis, which must be discussed in a face-to-face meeting.

Heart failure? It doesn’t mean your heart is about to stop!

What is heart failure? It does not mean your heart is about to stop. Heart failure is an unfortunate phrase that describes a set of conditions. The Pumping Marvellous Foundation prefers to call heart failure just HF. It means that your heart is not functioning correctly. Many different conditions can cause heart failure. The reality is that they all affect your heart’s ability to pump nutrient-rich oxygenated blood around the body.

It is essential to point out that each of these symptoms is not unique to heart failure and may be caused by other conditions, e.g., COPD. However, if you experience a combination of these common symptoms, we recommend you visit your GP to discuss them.

B reathlessness – especially when lying flat in bed or at rest

E xhaustion – feeling tired all the time, not being replenished by rest

A nkle swelling – swelling around the extremities, which could include ankles, legs or tummy

T ime to speak to your GP Surgery

Check out our Marvellous Symptom Checker here

Other symptoms can include

• A persistent cough
• Lack of appetite
• Weight loss
• High heart rate

Below you can see a list of conditions that can lead to heart failure include:

• Coronary heart disease – where the arteries supplying blood to the heart become blocked by fatty deposits (atherosclerosis), which may lead to angina or a heart attack
• High blood pressure – this can put extra strain on the heart, which over time can lead to heart failure conditions affecting the heart muscle (cardiomyopathy).
• Heart rhythm problems (arrhythmias), such as atrial fibrillation, or other issues with the heart valves.
• Congenital heart disease – birth defects that impair the normal functioning of the heart.
• Sometimes, obesity, anaemia, excessive alcohol consumption, an overactive thyroid, or high blood pressure in the lungs (pulmonary hypertension) can also cause heart failure.

Visit the Heart Failure page on the NHS website