What Is Heart Failure And Who Gets It?

This video provides important information about what heart failure is and why it occurs. Click on the video to play it.

Key points from the video:

Heart failure is an umbrella term for heart or cardiac damage where the heart cannot keep up with the body. Symptoms tend to appear during exercise or stressful activities. Heart failure becomes more common as we get older and in people with other health conditions. Examples of such conditions are:

• High blood pressure or hypertension

• Diabetes

• Kidney failure

• Smoking

• Obesity

• Severe lung disease

• People with other heart conditions

You can reduce your risk of heart failure by:

• Having a healthy diet

• Exercising

• Managing your weight

• Avoiding excessive alcohol

• Stopping or don’t start smoking