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Take respiratory distress seriously!

You always get out of breath right away? Take breathlessness seriously!
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Signs of heart failure

Are you tired and out of breath? Even the smallest movement strains you? Take breathlessness seriously. Not infrequently there is a heart failure behind it.

Only a few people know that respiratory distress has nothing to do with the lungs. It is a warning sign of myocardial insufficiency when respiratory distress occurs during exercise or at rest. Those affected, for example, need to gasp when they say something quickly. Other typical concomitant symptoms are decreasing performance, swollen legs, loss of appetite, weight loss, difficulty concentrating and feeling cold .

Professor Eckart Fleck of the German Heart Center Berlin explains: " If such symptoms are observed in yourself or related persons, an immediate visit to the cardiologist is recommended. " As the disease progresses, the symptoms become stronger and the heart can no longer counteract.

Heart failure reduces resilience and quality of life. Anyone who is tired and rejected, who ever gets out of breath, takes less part in social life. This is another reason why it is important not to accept respiratory distress and to fight the disease.

The doctor will ask for complaints and previous illnesses. An electrocardiogram (ECG), an ultrasound of the heart, and an X-ray of the lungs can be used to identify the cause of heart failure. Sometimes a cardiac catheterization is needed.

Depending on the cause of the heart muscle weakness - doctors speak of heart failure - are given drugs that strengthen or relieve the heart . Finding the right remedy may take a long time, and often patients have other comorbidities that also need attention. Patience is required. The point is that the person concerned can continue to take part in life, go for walks, go shopping home - and all without breathlessness . In some cases, the use of a pacemaker makes sense.

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