Congestive Heart Failure Signs

Early detection of congestive heart failure signs allows many people to avoid extreme cases of heart failure, such as heart attacks. Many signs of congestive heart failure do not point directly to heart failure. When you present with several signs, you may more accurately assume that you suffer from congestive heart failure.

1. Heart Problems. Noticeable problems with the heart that indicate that you may have congestive heart failure include fluttering feelings in the heart, heart palpitations, irregular heartbeats, an altered heart rate and an abnormal heart rhythm. You may notice these problems on your own or your doctor may notice the problems while listening to your heart with a stethoscope.
2. Loss of Energy. Heart failure often makes its sufferers feel abnormally tired very easily. In fact, people with heart failure often feel tired, fatigued and generally weak after engaging in little or no physical activity. Additionally, people with this condition may have trouble waking in the morning and feel shortness of breath while resting and after performing small tasks around the house.
3. Diet and Weight. Congestive heart failure presents many signs related to diet and weight. People experiencing this condition often suffer a loss of appetite and the unintentional gaining of weight.
4. Breathing. In addition to shortness of breath, heart failure also affects the breathing by causing sufferers to wheeze when breathing and produce crackles within the lungs while breathing. These crackles and the wheezing may not be loud enough to hear without a stethoscope.
5. Other Signs. Many other signs present with congestive heart failure. These other signs include pulse irregularity, decreases in the frequency of urination, swelling throughout the body and coughing that may or may not produce blood.