What Is Acute Heart Failure?

Looking for information in regards to what is acute heart failure? Generally speaking, acute heart failure often results from chronic heart disease. Acute heart failure begins when your heart is unable to pump blood to your body. During acute heart failure, your lungs will quickly become filled with fluids, which will impair your ability to breath. The onset of acute heart failure can occur within a matter of hours, or the entire process could take a few days. It has been shown that during an episode of acute heart failure, the mortality rate is as high as 10-20%.

The main symptom of acute heart failure is shortness of breath. One will begin to experience shortness of breath as the lungs are filling with fluids. In addition to shortness of breath, those that are suffering from acute heart failure may easily fatigue and may experience chest pain. Other symptoms of acute heart failure may include a cough, an impaired ability to breath while lying down, and palpitations of the heart.

If you are suffering from chronic heart disease, it is extremely important that you familiarize yourself with the symptoms that are associated with acute heart failure. If you believe that you are experiencing an episode of acute heart failure, it is critical that you get yourself to the hospital as soon as possible. Being able to quickly identify the symptoms of acute heart failure could dramatically increase your prognosis. The main course of treatment for acute heart failure are drugs that are able to widen your blood vessels.