Heart Failure: What it is and how we can help

Do you have heart failure?

We recommend you print this quiz. Share your results with your doctor, who can discuss your heart failure treatment options with you.

Your doctor may recommend you see one of our heart failure specialists.

Have you experienced any of these symptoms:

  Shortness of breath
  Cough
  Swelling of feet and ankles, or abdomen
  Weight gain
  Irregular or rapid pulse
  Heart palpitations
  Trouble sleeping
  Fatigue
  Loss of appetite
  Indigestion
  Exhaustion after exercise
  Repeated hospitalizations
  Intolerance to heart failure medications
  Worsening damage to kidney, liver and other vital organs

If you have been diagnosed with heart failure and your current medications are no longer effective, you may need further treatment.

When is heart failure considered “advanced?”

As always, it’s important to talk with your primary cardiologist about your condition, to determine if you would benefit from advanced heart failure therapies. As a general rule, heart failure is considered advanced when:

• A patient no longer responds to medications, such as beta blockers, ACE inhibitors and diuretics
• A patient is hospitalized frequently (3 times within 6 months) for congestive heart failure flare-ups, usually with fluid build-up or breathing issues
• The fraction of blood that is pumped out of the ventricles with each heartbeat is 25 percent or less