Health Heart Disease

Left sided heart failure causes blood to back up into the lungs, which cause shortness of breath. It’s usually a systolic heart failure, meaning the problem is in the left ventricle and it’s inability to pump effectively to maintain cardiac output to perfuse the body. A way to understand symptoms is to think forward from the left ventricle: cardiac output is insufficient to deliver the needed oxygen and nutrients to the cells, so there will be fatigue, weakness, reduced ability to exercise, decreased ability to concentrate,decreased urine output, etc. Then think backwards from the left ventricle: blood backs up into the left atrium, then into pulmonary system. This causes shortness of breath with activity, or when you lie down, persistent coughing and white or blood-tinged sputum (phlegm), weight gain from fluid retention, just to name some.