CardioMEMS™ HF System: Patient Conversation Aid

Living with Heart Failure


You usually don’t know when your heart failure is getting worse until symptoms start. This “silent progression” makes heart failure challenging for your doctor to treat and is deadly if left untreated.

Diagnosis and Dangers of Heart Failure

Heart failure is a serious condition that impacts the heart. It requires lifestyle adjustments, and lifelong management. Just like with cancer, early detection and proactive measures can significantly improve outcomes when you are diagnosed with heart failure.

Did You Know?

Men and women with heart failure are more likely to die from their disease within 5 years than individuals with certain types of common cancers including breast, prostate, and bladder cancer.1

1 in 9 deaths each year from heart failure.2

One person dies every 33 seconds in the United States from cardiovascular disease.3

What are the signs & symptoms of heart failure?

You usually do not know your heart failure is getting worse until the onset of symptoms like:
 

Swelling

Swelling of the feet, ankles, and legs

Shortness of breath

Shortness of breath

Feeling overly tired

Feeling overly tired


Early Treatment is Essential

Heart failure is progressive: the heart gets weaker over time, even though you may not notice the signs.

Care teams have traditionally relied on symptoms to appear, but waiting this long often means you might need to be hospitalized.4

By understanding how serious your heart failure can be and taking proactive steps, you play a key role in managing your heart health.

Summary

Summary Checkmark

• Heart failure is a serious condition, with high mortality, that requires lifestyle adjustments and lifelong management.
 

• The heart gets weaker over time, even though you may not notice the signs.


References

  1. Mamas MA, Sperrin M, Watson MC, et al. Do patients have worse outcomes in heart failure than in cancer? A primary carebased cohort study with 10-year follow-up in Scotland. Eur J Heart Fail. 2017;Epub ahead of print.
  2. Mozzafarian paper: Mozzafarian D, Benjamin EJ, Go AS, et al. on behalf of the American Heart Association Statistics Committee and Stroke Statistics Subcommittee. Heart disease and stroke statistics—2016 update: a report from the American Heart Association. Circulation. 2016;133:e38-e360.4.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Heart Failure Fact Sheet. https://www.cdc.gov/dhdsp/data_statistics/fact_sheet
  3. National Center for Health Statistics. Multiple Cause of Death 2018–2021 on CDC WONDER Database. Accessed February 2, 2023.
  4. Adamson PB. Pathophysiology of the transition from chronic compensated and acute decompensated heart failure: new insights from continuous monitoring devices. Current Heart Failure Reports. 2009;6:287-292.

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