Heart Failure | Ask Alia

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Take the Quiz

This short quiz will help you identify your symptoms.
You'll be able to email or print your responses at the end so you can discuss them with your doctor.

About your symptoms

If you have symptoms like swollen feet or ankles, shortness of breath walking upstairs, or a need to sleep propped up on pillows, it’s important to track them over time in case they’re related to your heart condition, which could be heart failure.

Heart failure might sound alarming, but it doesn’t mean your heart has ‘failed’. It’s the term doctors use when your heart can’t pump oxygenated blood around your body as well as it should.

There are two types of heart failure:

Heart failure with reduced ejection fraction of <50%* (HF-rEF)
Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction of ≥50% (HF-pEF)

Although heart failure requires life-long medical management, there’s lots you can do to look after
your heart, like keeping track of what your heart is trying to tell you.

Even with heart failure, you can still do the things you love — socialising with family, everyday things around the house, or going for walks. Download the symptom tracker below to help monitor your symptoms each day and discuss your results with your doctor.

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Symptom tracker

Download our symptom tracker to help you monitor the impact of heart failure on your life. 

Once you have tracked your symptoms, you can use the 'Talking to your doctor' guide below to help you talk to your GP about how you are feeling.

Download symptom tracker
Resources in other languages

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5 signs of possible heart failure

A persistent dry cough, being left breathless by everyday activities, or lying propped upright as the only way to breathe comfortably at night… Any of these could be due to fluid build up in the lungs caused by heart failure - even fluid retention around your feet  or ankles making shoes tight and uncomfortable.

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Understanding your symptoms

More information

If you would like more information about heart failure, the resources below may help. They cover living with heart failure, talking to your doctor and the common symptoms of heart failure.

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Know your symptoms

This short summary covers the 5 possible signs and symptoms of heart failure to be aware of and discuss with your doctor.

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Download here
Resources in other languages
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Talking to your doctor

This guide contains useful tips and information on discussing how you are feeling with your doctor. It includes advice on what to do before, during and after your appointment.

Download here
Resources in other languages
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Living whole-heartedly: A guide for living with heart failure

This booklet has been specially developed to provide more information on heart failure, what it is, how it is treated and how to monitor and live with this condition.

Download here
Resources in other languages

Talk to your doctor

If you are experiencing any of the above symptoms, or if you gain more than 2kg in 2 days, please consult your doctor as soon as possible.

If you are unable to visit in person, please contact the doctors clinic to find out more about their appointment options.

The above information is intended for patients diagnosed with heart failure. If you are unsure about your condition, please talk to your doctor.