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the stethoscope as crackles along the lung bases. In some patients, at night time when they lie down, the fluid from the rest of the body will due to gravitational forces flow back into the chest region, further complicating the shortness of breath (orthopnea). In addition, the inefficient gas exchange causes fatigue (as there is an inadequate supply of oxygen in the body) as well as tachycardia (as your body attempts to restore normality by pumping faster).

Right-sided heart failure, on the other hand, occurs when the right ventricle fails to pump enough blood. The right ventricle is responsible for receiving deoxygenated blood from the systemic vascular beds (around the body) and delivers this blood to the lungs for gas exchange to take place. Thus, when the right ventricle fails to pump properly, there would be a build-up of fluid in the systemic veins causing edema in the periphery such as the limbs. This is often why patients with heart failure will complain of swollen ankles especially at the end of the day as fluids accumulate around the lower limbs due to gravitational forces. In the long run, the fluid build-up will increase the pressure in the portal veins (leading to the liver), causing hepatomegaly (enlargement of the liver).

Although separating symptoms according to left and right heart failure is useful, over time, as the fluid build-up rises, it would not just be localized to one specific area as discussed above. Thus, while patients may initially have one sided heart failure, over time, they may present to the doctor with symptoms of heart failure from both sides.

In conclusion, there are various signs and symptoms of heart failure and this article includes only some of the more classic ones. Since many of the symptoms mentioned above are non-specific to heart failure, if you do have some of the symptoms above, it is important to seek medical advice as soon as possible.

Reference:

Harrison, T. et al. (2005) Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine, 16th edition. McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/med line plus/heartfailure.html

http://e n.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heart_fai lure

http://www.helium.com/item s/1400665-what-is-heart-failur e

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