Heart Failure at 51

[Changeismine]

I have been diagnosed with heart failure today, I am female and 51 years old. I need to have further tests to establish what type of heart failure I have. I am numb, scared and angry. Anyone else have heart failure and want to talk?

My dear, I am so sorry. I have some similar symptoms, but had never heard of "heart failure" as a condition before. Of course you are feeling all these emotions today; do not try to fight them right now, leave that for another day once they have washed away a little. Post some more on here, if you can. Try not to read up on this thing too much. I hope other people can contribute to give you support. I do not know you, but I wish I could give you a warm, enveloping hug right now.

Do the medical professionals know what has caused it? Any family history?

Hi, I was diagnosed with heart failure at 58 so I know what a shock it is. They're not sure what caused mine but think it was probably the chemo I had for breast cancer a few years ago. All I can say is it does get better. When I was diagnosed I was in a terrible state. I could barely walk from one end of my flat to the other. And of course, the diagnosis of 'heart failure' makes it sound like you're almost dead!

These days though, it's a manageable condition. I'd be lying if I said you will be 'normal' because you will have to make adjustments. But once they find the cause and get you on a regime of medication things will get better. It took 18 months to find the right combination of meds for me and I'm now doing ok.

There is also a group called Pumping Marvellous you might find helpful (find them on FB). It's run by people living with heart failure from all sorts of causes. They're a mine of useful information and there's always someone who can answer your questions. Do look them up, I think you'll find it helpful.

I copied this from the NHS website:

Heart failure does not mean your heart has stopped working. It just needs some support to help it work better

I hope that reassures you a little. You just need the right treatment. Wishing you all the best.

Yes, there is hope! Started with symptoms around 6 years ago at 48 and after 6 months was struggling to walk and even breathe. Was taken into hospital and diagnosed with severe hf with an ejection fraction of 20%. Once the meds started, I felt better immediately and was more or less OK after 3 or 4 months. Now I have a low normal heart function of around 45/50%, which has been stable for 5 years. I too was told it was caused by previous chemo regime but the cardiologist later revised this to ' probably a virus/ we're not sure of the cause'. I was very lucky and the meds were spot on from the beginning. Best of luck to you, I am sure they will be able to improve things.