Health Matters: Understanding Heart Failure
It happens when the heart can no longer pump enough oxygenated blood throughout the body. “It’s estimated that 5.7 million adults have heart failure with future diagnoses increasing to over 8 million,” said Vicki Hayes, a nurse practitioner with Lee Health.
Things like a heart attack, a virus, or hypertension can cause heart failure. “The biggest thing with heart failure is realizing that the body is starting to hold on to fluid for whatever reason and we need to identify that early,” she said. Other things to notice are swollen ankles and weight gain. “The early signs the patient can...