Jacqueline Tamis-Holland, M.D., St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center
Question: What are the major symptoms of heart failure or how do I know if I have heart failure?
Answer: The major symptom of heart failure is difficulty breathing. Usually, the difficulty breathing occurs with activity and the more advanced your heart failure is, the less you can do before you have trouble breathing. You also may have swelling of your legs, or you also may just get tired with activity. [With] more severe stages of heart failure, you may have difficulty breathing when you're sleeping at night.
You may need to sit up or propped on several pillows to sleep better. You may have vague abdominal discomfort, weight loss, or just overall not feeling well. Those are the typical symptoms of heart failure.
