Cardiac Failure Explained: Understanding the Symptoms, Signs, Medical Tests, and Management of a Failing Heart

The words ‘heart failure’ scream ‘heart attack’ for many people, and yet this is not the case. Heart failure simply means that the heart is not pumping properly. Yet, don’t be fooled. This ‘simplicity’ subsists in a world of complexity that puts the heart in an intimate, and often dangerous, relationship with the kidneys, the lungs and the circulatory system that potentially can upset every organ in the body.

Affecting about 480,000 people in Australia and more than 25 million worldwide, heart failure, or cardiac failure (CF), is a serious condition with a worse outcome than most cancers. Often the end product of other conditions, CF decreases the quality of life for the sufferer, causes frequent hospitalisation, places a huge strain on health systems, and can kill.

The good news is that modern research, improved medications and science fiction-like developments in technology mean that there are many avenues now to improve life outcomes for people who have heart failure.

Recognising the signs and symptoms of CF, while appreciating today’s leading-edge treatment and management of a failing heart create hope and encourage understanding through knowledge. This approach opens up meaningful conversations among patients, those who care for them and medical practitioners. Your guide is Cardiac Failure Explained.