the symptoms of congestive heart failure vary among individuals according to the particular organ systems involved and depending on the degree to which the rest of the body has "compensated" for the heart muscle weakness. an early symptom of congestive heart failure is fatigue. while fatigue is a sensitive indicator of possible underlying congestive heart failure it is obviously a nonspecific symptom that may be caused by many other conditions. the person's ability to exercise may also diminish. patients may not even sense this decrease and they may subconsciously reduce their activities to accommodate this limitation. as the body becomes overloaded with fluid from congestive heart failure swelling (edema) of the ankles and legs or abdomen may be noticed. this can be referred to as "right sided heart failure" as failure of the right sided heart chambers to pump venous blood to the lungs to acquire oxygen results in buildup of this fluid in gravity-dependent areas such as in the legs. the most common cause of this is longstanding failure of the left heart which may lead to secondary failure of the right heart. right-sided heart failure can also be caused by severe lung disease (referred to as "cor pulmonale") or by intrinsic disease of the right heart muscle (less common) in addition fluid may accumulate in the lungs thereby causing shortness of breath particularly during exercise and when lying flat. in some instances patients are awakened at night gasping for air. some may be unable to sleep unless sitting upright. the extra fluid in the body may cause increased urination particularly at night. accumulation of fluid in the liver and intestines may cause nausea abdominal pain and decreased appetite.
what are the symptoms of congestive heart failure?