chf

[kiittu]

i want to know  about congestive heart failure.what is de symptoms fot this diseas?

[Dr. Kokil Mathur]

Hi
Welcome to the MedHelp forum!
Congestive heart failure (CHF), or heart failure, is a condition in which the heart can't pump enough blood to the different organs of the body. This can result from coronary artery disease, high blood pressure, valvular heart diseases, cardiomyopathies, encocarditis or myocarditis. One of the first symptoms is fatigue, shortness of breath. It also causes fluid retention in the body, inability to sleep unless in sitting position, and accumulation of fluid in abdomen and liver causing further problems like abdominal pain, nausea and jaundice. It is diagnosed by physical examination, medical history, ECG, ECHO, angiography etc.
Hope this helps. Please let me know if there is any thing else and do keep me posted. Take care!

[gmachris518]

I'm sure the symptoms vary from person to person, but personally CHF showed up as shortness of breath, weakness throughout my body, fluid in my lungs, and profound swelling from my abdomen to the bottoms of my feet.  

The swelling was so bad that, at one point, I fell and scraped the side of my leg on lava rock.  The scrapes and cuts never bled, but weeped a clear fluid for several months, and healed with several ugly scars.

I finally relented when I found it almost impossible to get a breath of air.  The doctor did a chest xray which showed a total whiteout, and meant that my lungs were filled to capaicity with fluid.  Several people die at this stage, so if it becomes hard to breathe, then a trip to the nearest ER is your next step.

I hope this answers your question.