Many of these symptoms occur in other illnesses and so should not necessarily be linked to heart failure. People with heart failure may experience one or more of these symptoms and most can be relieved with the appropriate medication.
Breathlessness (or dyspnoea) has been called a 'hallmark' of heart failure and is probably its most common symptom. For some people being short of breath occurs when they try to do too much in a day. Others say they experience breathlessness when they take too much exercise (e.g. walking, hill climbing, gardening, line-dancing and fishing) or try to lift things. Many find that avoiding certain activities and taking things slowly works well and that medication helps them. Those with more severe heart failure could experience breathlessness when they were lying down and resting and one man said that this had worried him and made him go and see his doctor.
