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THE IRISH HEART Foundation has launched a campaign to highlight the symptoms of heart failure which affects 90,000 people in Ireland.
According to a survey carried out by the charity, 46% of people believe heart failure is similar to cardiac arrest – commonly known as a heart attack – which is when the heart stops or shuts downs.
However, the charity said heart failure is a “life-threatening condition in which the heart cannot pump enough blood around the body, as the walls of the heart become too weak or too stiff to work properly”.
It is calling on the public to take note of the symptoms associated with the “debilitating condition” which include shortness of breath, swollen ankles and fatigue.
A new website has also been launched – KnowYourHeart.ie - where members of the public can go online and check if they are experiencing any heart failure symptoms.
Sports broadcaster and presenter Michael Lyster, who is heading up the campaign, spoke about his own experiences living with heart failure.
“It’s human nature to try to explain away symptoms when we are ill – we don’t want to confront that something might be wrong,” he said.
“Looking back, I was experiencing all the classic symptoms of heart failure. I was constantly tired, my ankles were swollen, and I would wake up at night panting for breath – but I didn’t want to admit something was wrong for a long time.
“Thankfully, I eventually heeded the signs and got professional help before it was too late. Don’t ignore the signs of heart failure - I would urge anyone experiencing shortness of breath, fatigue and swollen ankles to contact their GP without delay,” he added.
Lyster retired as the host of The Sunday Game on RTÉ last year as he approached 65-years-old and said he has a renewed interest in looking after his health.
“While I thoroughly enjoyed my career, I have to say that I am relishing my retirement, spending more time doing other things I love and enjoying quality time with my family.
“I’m able to do this by actively looking after my health. It is possible to live well with heart failure – it doesn’t have to slow you down once treated properly.”
Dr Angie Brown, a consultant cardiologist and medical director with the Heart Foundation said the research showed “people mistakenly think the symptoms of heart failure are similar to those of a heart attack”.
“The awareness campaign aims to educate people about the actual symptoms of heart failure which people should be vigilant for, and to reassure people that heart failure can be managed if diagnosed and treated early.”
Symptoms
Symptoms of heart failure occur when your heart is not pumping blood around the body efficiently and allowing excess fluid to pool in your lungs and your limbs.
The most common symptoms associated with heart failure are:
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Listened recently to a podcast that pointed out women’s symptoms for heart attack are different to a men’s. The common symptoms for men are so widely known that doctors don’t even notice when women report their symptoms. Heart attacks are also the number one cause of women’s deaths.
@Craic_a_tower: It’s definitely something that needs to be better known. Women can get back pain as an indicator instead of chest or arm pain.
@Craic_a_tower: My late father had several heart attacks and each was somewhat different. He once drove himself to our local hospital, waited in the A&E department for 30 minutes to be seen and calmly explained that he thought he might be having a heart attack. He was. Like many people I’ve heard similar information and seen the posts on social media of what you should and shouldn’t do in the event of a heart attack and how women tend to experience these differently to men.
I asked my GP about this once, he replied oh for f*** sake everyone experiences a heart attack differently, it’s amazing how everyone takes this sort of nonsense advice from people with no medical degree but when they want a prescription they still come to their GP.
@Arch Angel: Only because I can’t get a prescription anywhere else. Most docs don’t have a clue, they google then charge u.
@Kath Noonan: I’m sorry you feel that way, I’m guessing you’ve had a negative experience with a doctor to cause this. Without being facetious, you obviously haven’t researched most doctors to if they do or don’t have a clue.
The point my GP was making was that there are those who are perfectly willing to take expert advice from unqualified people – as long as this agrees with their preconceived ideas. A Flat Earth expedition intending to discover the edge of the world but accidently finding it’s round, may not find their ideas welcome at the next Flat Earth conference. Or a mother who advocated against vaccines, only to see her child almost succumb to measles, changes her views and found she was no longer welcome. In short, if you’re going to take advice from someone, make sure they didn’t print their own qualifications and don’t have an reasons to give wrong advice. If you’re accepting advice from the internet, you’re already in trouble.
I’m all for awareness but if you type any of your symptoms into Google you will have every disease known to mankind and if you present to the public health care with any of these issues you will be rewarded with an appointment to join the very long fecking queue
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