What Does Advanced Heart Failure Mean?
Heart failure means that the heart isn't pumping blood around the body as well as it should and oxgyen levels may drop and not reach tissues such as lungs and muscles.
When the heart becomes very weak and medication is not controlling symptoms this is called advanced heart failure. At this stage medication should be reviewed regularly to keep symptoms as well controlled as possible.
Symptoms of advanced heart failure:
- Fluid build-up (oedema)
- Breathlessness
- Fatigue and exhaustion. Every day activities like getting dressed or walking across a room become very hard.
- Loss of appetite
- Reduced mobility
- Anxiety and depression
Please look at the links from the symptoms above for more detail on how to manage these.