
More than five million Americans are living with heart failure — the inability of the heart to provide adequate blood supply and oxygen to the rest of the body. At Anderson Regional Heart Center, a team of board-certified cardiologists, including specialists in heart failure and electrophysiology, collaborate to provide progressive strategies to treat and stabilize your heart failure. If the blood flow can be restored in time, damage to the heart can be limited or prevented.
Heart failure is a long-term condition that can gradually worsen over time, enlarging your heart and causing it to pump less efficiently. Despite working harder, your heart becomes less able to pump essential blood and oxygen to organs and tissue in your body. If you’ve had a heart attack, cardiomyopathy, coronary artery disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, abnormal heart valves or heart rhythm, lung disease or a congenital heart defect, you are at a greater risk of developing heart failure.
When heart failure goes untreated, you will likely feel fatigue and loss of energy, shortness of breath (even when lying down), cough and fluid retention in your ankles, legs or stomach.
To diagnose heart failure, your doctor can perform a variety of non-invasive and minimally invasive procedures:
Heart failure cannot be cured, but your Anderson heart team can treat your symptoms and help improve your heart function. A dedicated team of board-certified cardiologists and specialists in heart failure will develop a comprehensive treatment program with the goal of stabilizing your heart failure before it worsens.
To determine if you have heart failure, your doctor may order one of the following:
Managing your weight and blood pressure is crucial to managing your heart failure. And when your heart failure is under control, you can rest more comfortably at home, maintain your independence and even exercise. Taking and tracking regular weight and blood pressure measurements at home can help you avoid hospital visits.