Just like the rest of your body, the heart is affected by aging. All of your habits throughout life combine to cause wear and tear on the structures in the heart, including the heart muscle itself and its blood vessels. Because of that, the risk of developing heart disease, including coronary artery disease and heart failure, increases with age.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 6.7 million Americans have heart failure, and most of them are older adults. Heart failure is progressive, though, meaning it worsens over time. Knowing the signs of heart failure can help you seek medical care, which can help slow the progress of the disease.
Understanding Heart Failure
The term “heart failure” implies that the heart will stop working immediately. However, in most cases, heart failure worsens gradually as the heart struggles to pump enough blood.
To understand what happens during heart failure, consider how the heart functions normally. Your heart has four chambers: two upper chambers called atria and two lower chambers called ventricles.
Oxygen-depleted blood flows into the right atrium, then into the right ventricle and into the lungs. In the lungs, the blood is infused with oxygen. The oxygenated blood then flows into the left atrium, into the left ventricle and then into the rest of the body.
The heart muscle is responsible for pumping blood from one chamber of the heart to another, to and from the lungs, and then out into the body. When the heart begins to fail, it can’t pump enough blood, straining the entire body.
The heart itself is also strained. It tries to compensate for the inability to pump efficiently by getting bigger, pumping faster and developing muscle mass. While those efforts may help at first, they won’t work for long as heart failure progresses.
The Signs and Symptoms of Heart Failure
The earliest stages of heart failure often don’t cause any noticeable symptoms. As heart failure progresses and the heart struggles to pump blood, it can cause a number of symptoms. People with heart failure may experience:
- Shortness of breath during activity or when bending over, such as to tie shoes
- Swelling in the feet, legs, ankles or abdomen
- Difficulty breathing when lying down
- Difficulty sleeping when lying flat
- Fatigue
- Coughing
- Wheezing
- Weight gain
- Loss of appetite
- Nausea
- Increased urination
- Weakness
If you experience any of these symptoms, it’s essential to check in with a medical provider. While many symptoms can relate to less serious medical conditions, such as the flu, it’s better to have them checked out. It’s especially important to seek medical attention if your symptoms linger for more than a few days.
As heart failure progresses, fluid buildup and reduced blood flow can cause symptoms in other parts of the body. These symptoms may include breathing problems from fluid around the lungs, kidney or liver damage, malnutrition, pulmonary hypertension, or an irregular heartbeat. In severe cases, heart failure can also lead to sudden cardiac arrest.
What You Can Do to Protect Your Heart
There’s no foolproof way of preventing heart failure, but it is important to note that it is not aging by itself that is the risk factor; instead, it is the other diseases that often come with age. Fortunately, there are ways to lower the risk of developing heart failure and other diseases. A healthy lifestyle can help protect your heart and keep it pumping efficiently.
Wondering where to begin? Start with these basics:
- Be physically active. Your heart is a muscle, and it needs regular exercise. Aim to get at least 150 minutes of moderate physical activity (like brisk walking, jogging or swimming) or 75 minutes of strenuous physical activity (like running, playing tennis or water aerobics) each week. In between workouts, make it your goal to get up and moving as often as possible. Even small bursts of movement make a difference.
- Eat for your heart. Fill at least half of your plate with fruits and vegetables for meals. Supplement those healthy foods with whole grains, a small amount of healthy, unsaturated fat, and lean protein, such as turkey, chicken or plant-based proteins like chickpeas or lentils. Add in heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids by eating fatty fish twice a week. A three-ounce serving of tuna or salmon will work.
- Lose weight, if needed. Talk with your primary care provider about what a healthy weight is for you. Maintaining a healthy weight can help you lower your risk of developing heart failure, a heart attack and other forms of heart disease.
- Just say no to smoking. Smoking damages the blood vessels and can increase your risk of developing high blood pressure, high cholesterol and heart disease. Damaged blood vessels are a major risk factor for heart failure. Talk with a medical provider about a quit plan that will work for you.
- Manage other health issues. Some medical conditions can increase your risk of developing heart failure. If you’ve been diagnosed with coronary artery disease, diabetes, high blood pressure or valvular heart disease, work with your medical providers to carefully manage your condition.
What if you’ve already been diagnosed with heart failure? Because heart failure is progressive, you can often take steps to slow it down. The tips mentioned for preventing heart failure can also help you keep it from progressing.
You should also carefully follow the recommendations of your cardiologist or heart failure specialist, who may prescribe medications or dietary changes to slow the progression of the disease. In the later stages of heart failure, additional treatment, such as surgery, may be needed to support the heart.
More to Read
- Cardiac Calcium Scoring: An Important Tool for Heart Health Screening
- Talk to Your Provider About Improving Your Heart Health
- Take a Stroll Through the Heart Health Benefits of Walking
- It’s Time to Get Moving: How to Exercise for Heart Health
- 6 Ways to Have Heart-Healthy Meals on the Go
Medically reviewed by Sudarshan Paudel, MD.
