Ok i know we`re not doctors but does this sound like heart failure to you ?

[panicroommum]

Ok today i made the mistake of googling heart failure because i am so fed up of feeling unwell i just ended there somehow.

I developed swollen ankles years ago-saw gp who diagnosed lymphoedma.Never really convinced myself. He said if it was heart failure i`d be short of breath.

Often so puffed up with fluid that when i get up for a wee in the night and take a breath i can actually feel fluid in my chest.

Always tired and run down.
Diagnosed with panic attacks as complained of pounding heart -never had ecg or anything just given antidepressants.Not on them nowbtw.Sometimes i wake up witha pounding heart in the night.

Short of breath for about 2 years getting gradually worse- gp prescribed me an inhaler and told me to use it when required and to come back for a preventer if using it more than 3 times a week.

Alos got poor family history but not that close-grandma died aged 32 from heart attack and all my mums brothers (3) had heart attacks in their 40`s.

My blood pressure is high (170/114 ) today and down to 160/105 when i took it again.

I`m 36-ex smoker.Not part overweight (size 10-12 ).
Drink a little too heavily (2 glasses most nights ) and swim most days.

Sorry its so long but ive just sat here in bits and convinced myself im dying .wish i could tell my doc all this without sounding like an over anxious hypercondriac who self diagnoses on internet !
Do you think it would be unreasonable to ask for a chest x ray and ecg ?

Could i maybe go private ?

I'm not a doctor but my father suffered from heart failure, hypertension and Type 2 diabetes (diabetes and cardiac problems not being unrelated) for many years so have read a little bit around it.

Certainly some of the symptoms which you describe could be attributed to heart failure, e.g. fluid in the lungs but_ the most characteristic sign of it is shortness of breath and wheeziness (and by that I mean really struggling to catch your breath in excess of something which could be treated with an inhaler). I'd also add that if it was heart failure which was resulting in fluid on the lungs then I think you'd be really very poorly and be requiring medication (e.g. Frusamide) to clear them.

I think the most likely thing is that many of your problems are being caused by hypertension: anything systolic over 140 is pretty high, and anything diastolic over 90. I'd be going to speak to the doctor about tha in itself as they will certainly give you a fair hearing if those readings are right. The doctor would probably also give your heart a fairly thorough checking on that basis as well. It may also be worth getting yourself checked for diabetes as well, as some of those symptoms (e.g. fluid retention) can be caused by that - you can test home testing kits from places like Boots.

HTH

panicroommum. With those symptoms (and family history) I think it's perfectly reasonable to ask for an ECG/chest x-ray.

I'm not a medic but my dd has heart problems and takes meds to keep her out of heart failure. The lower of your BP measurement is still a little on the high side I think. I'm not saying you do have a heart problem but I think it warrants further investigations. Also slightly 'wet' lungs are sometimes misdiagnosed as asthma.

I really don't know anything about heart failure, but I don't think that you should worry about seeming like a hypochondriac. These symptoms and impacting on your quality of life and causing you anxiety - you deserve to feel better and the doctor is there for exactly that reason.

Write a list of your concerns, make an appointment and talk through exactly what you're worried about. These are real concerns and the dr won't think badly of you. Good luck.

I definitely feel with those symptoms you are perfectly reasonable wanting further investigation. The BP lower level needs monitoring further.

To me (completely untrained medically but have had high bloodpressure prompting me to read up on it) your symptoms can all be attributed to the high blood pressure. Are you on medication for it? I think that needs sorting out first and foremost, becaue the water retentions sounds awful.

Please don't worry about being a hypochondriac, your symptoms need looking at and the cause (be it high BP or something else) needs treating.

Good luck.

xx

You need to see your GP and stop trying to self-diagnose.

Considering your family history and symptoms, bloods, ECG and CXR should be first-line investigations.

I agree with emma1977. Impossible to diagnose over the internet. Your symptoms could be heart failure but are still more likely to be something much less worrying. Your GP is the best person to see you to sort this out. I agree, with family history, an ecg would not be a bad idea at all.

stop googling. see GP. or a different one, and say you are concerned and would like a referral.

do u suffer any chest pain at all? dh was disagnosed with DCM because he went to a+e, said he had some chest pain (he didnt actually appear that bad at this point, he actually walked into a+e!), they promptly took him round to resus 1, x-ray done, ecg done, cardiac doc in to look at x-ray, said his heart seemed big, did an echo in cubicle with about half the a+e staff crammed into the cubicle as its quite a 'rare' condition, and diagnosed him with DCM.

hi i have alot of experiance about this my daughter has a heart defect she has been in heart failure u really dont need to worry u carnt have heart failure for that amount of time its really not poss please dont worry x x x x

Agree, GO AND SEE YOUR GP. If not happy then by all means go private. Your blood pressure needs sorting out for a start.
Heart failure is fairly simple to diagnose on physical examination so the gp should be able to set your mind at rest on that score.