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THE IRISH HEART Foundation has described the level of awareness of the symptoms of health failure as “shocking”.
A new survey has revealed that just 7 per cent of people could identity three common symptoms of heart failure – shortness of breath, swollen ankles, and tiredness.
Others include a lack of appetite, nausea, confusion, impaired thinking, increased heart rate, persistent coughing or wheezing.
87 per cent mistook these symptoms for ‘normal signs of ageing”.
The survey from Novartis interviewed 11,000 people across Europe aged over 50, including 1,000 in Ireland, and the publication of which marks Heart Failure Awareness Day.
“It is shocking that so few people understand how common and life threatening the condition is,” Dr Angie Brown, Medical Director, with the Irish Heart Foundation said.
Studies have shown that 60% of heart failure sufferers will die within five years of experiencing the condition, which is higher than many of the most common forms of cancer.
The survey also revealed that people were more afraid of suffering a stroke, advanced breast or bowel cancer, or a heart attack than heart failure.
Brown added that heart failure is having a “massive impact on our health services at a time when they are struggling to cope”.
Novartis, working with NUI Galway, are currently carrying out analysis as to just how much this will cost the State as the ageing population grows.
“Timely interventions would significantly improve patients’ quality of life and longevity – as well as making huge cost saving,” Brown added.
“I would hope that by creating more awareness about heart failure we can prevent unnecessary deaths.”
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Not really that shocking. The amount of people that believe in horoscopes and ghosts is far more shocking
You would also like to question the medical profession, my Mum starting seeing a doctor in September 2011 with different symptoms she was told it was asthma and a few other things and continued to go until February 2012 when she finally demanded to be sent to a heart specialist as she knew something was wrong she was at the stage she was nearly collapsing ,she was right and was in hospital for a month and now on lots of medication long term to keep her heart going. So what I worry is people may notice different symptoms but I’d hope doctors can recognise those symptoms.
Soooooo, what are they???
End of the second paragraph.
That’s just three! There are more.
Now you know why we have a bigger problem LITERACY
Not really literacy issue… T is near f on the keyboard, and accidents happen
I had a heart attack six weeks ago and this is how it felt for me. Started with pain in my left arm and shoulder. It felt like when you bang your elbow/funny bone off of a hard surface but the pain did not dissipate it just stayed constant with this I had pain across my collar bone and throat it was a lot like that burning pain when you have sprinted to hard it was worse when I climbed the stairs etc.This was accompanied by a lot of burping. This became worse over the course of a week at which point I was walking around with pain killers in one hand and Gaviscon in the other. Then on the friday night took a large spoon of gaviscon and I felt like I had swallowed lava collapsed on the couch and twenty minutes later managed to get the children and myself to bed .Walked myself down to the doctors the next morning a fifteen minute walk of Pain. He diagnosed me with Angina. I got a lift to the Hospital who diagnosed heart attack and took care of me as soon as possible. One stent and one Angioplasty later I’m still alive. I dont know if this will help anyone but that is my story.
If anyone has a family history with heart problems, be careful and get checked out ! I was unlucky and lucky in a way that I got a virus infection,that caused inflammation of the heart muscles twice in 5 years, and because doctors go on family medical history they insisted I had a angiogram procedure on both occasions and I am only 33 years old ,but I know that I don’t have heart disease, so anyone that has a family member with heart problems get checked and don’t smoke.
It tells you at the top of the article – shortness of breath, swollen ankles, tiredness..
So what are the symptoms then? Eh thanks for that non article.
Have a look at the article again there, J.
Maybe read the article not just the headline
Maybe read the article not just the headline!!
Yup, my bad.
That’s just the three most common. There are more and it’s your duty, seeing as ye are reporting, to have a complete list. Swollen belly, swollen neck veins, coughing at night etc.
Added that in now.
My mam died from.Heart failure but lived many years with it… when really sick was terribke distressing
Yeh you could’ve given us some hints as what happens other short breaths what do you take for cure do I buy a blood pressure machine how many times a week do I check It,
MRSA is the reason for poor memory and failing of persistent effort.While there are victims of Electronic/Entomological warfare who harrass others.
If previous comments are anything to go by I think the problem is people not paying attention to what they are told.
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