Signs and Symptoms

Many people who have heart failure will have symptoms that include:

• Shortness of breath (even when doing simple tasks like dressing or walking a flight of stairs)
• Swelling in the ankles, feet, legs, abdomen, or veins in the neck
• Extreme tiredness (fatigue)
• Feelings of weakness
• Rapid or irregular heartbeat
• Fast weight gain, or rapid fluctuations in weight
• Pressure or heaviness in the chest when lying flat

Late in the disease, people may notice:

• A lack of appetite or that they feel full more quickly
• Weight loss (cardiac cachexia)