Useful terms for people with heart failure
A-C
Abdomen
The part of the body between your chest and pelvis. It’s often referred to as the belly or middle. If you have heart failure you may have fluid-build-up in your abdomen.
Angina
Angina is a temporary chest pain or discomfort that happens when your heart doesn’t get enough blood and oxygen. Angina can be a symptom of coronary heart disease. It’s important that you visit your doctor and get appropriate treatment for angina. If angina symptoms continue for more than 10 minutes, are severe or get worse, call Triple Zero (000) and ask for an ambulance.
Find out more about angina from the Heart Foundation
Active ingredient
The active ingredient is the chemical (or chemicals) in your medicine that make it work. Medicines also have other ingredients to help deliver the active ingredient, or as part of the manufacturing process.
Arrhythmia
Arrythmia is a fault in the heart’s electrical system, which affects your heart’s pumping rhythm. The abnormal electrical activity makes the heart muscle beat too fast, slow or in an irregular way. Arrhythmias are a range of conditions, which have a range of outcomes. Most arrhythmias are not life-threatening but can still cause complications and are best managed by your health care team.
Find out more about arrhythmia from the Heart Foundation
Bendopnoea
Shortness of breath when bending over. This is a symptom of heart failure.
Blood pressure
Blood pressure is the pressure of your blood on the walls of your arteries as your heart pumps it around your body. Your blood pressure will go up and down naturally throughout the day, depending on what you are doing, especially if you are exercising. High blood pressure (hypertension) is a risk factor for heart disease. High blood pressure can be silent, so it’s important to get regular blood pressure checks.
Talk to your GP about having a Heart Health Check to better understand your risk of heart disease and stroke. Your GP and nurse can support you to make positive changes to lower this risk
Find out more about Heart Health checks from the Heart Foundation
Cardiac arrest
A cardiac arrest is when your heart stops beating, starving your brain and vital organs of oxygen. Unlike with a heart attack, a person having a cardiac arrest is unconscious and cannot breathe properly. A cardiac arrest is a medical emergency. Cardiac arrest treatment steps are: Call. Push. Shock. Call Triple Zero (000) immediately, start chest compressions and use a defibrillator (AED) if available. The call operator will talk you through what to do.
For more information on cardiac arrest, read What is a cardiac arrest? from the Heart Foundation’s website.
Cardiomyopathy
Cardiomyopathy is a condition which causes the heart muscle to become enlarged, thickened or stiff. It can cause heart failure. There are different types of cardiomyopathy.
To learn more about cardiomyopathy, read the resources from St Vincent’s Hospital Heart Health.
Coronary arteries
The blood vessels that supply oxygenated blood to your heart muscle.
Coronary heart disease
Coronary heart disease occurs when one or more coronary arteries become narrow or blocked, because of a build-up of plaque (a combination of fat, cholesterol and other substances).
Coronary heart disease can cause chest pain (angina), blood clots, and in extreme cases, heart attacks. It’s also one of the conditions that causes heart failure.
Coronary heart disease is also known as ischaemic heart disease
Read the Heart Foundation’s What is coronary heart disease?, to find out more about the condition.
D-G
Diagnostic tests
Diagnostic tests are used to confirm or rule out conditions and diseases, and they can also be used to see whether a treatment is working or if a condition is getting better or worse.
There are many types of diagnostic tests, including blood tests, X-rays, echocardiograms (ECHOs) and electrocardiograms (ECGs).
Diastolic heart failure
Also known as heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF).
HFpEF occurs when your heart can pump blood to the rest of your body, but your heart muscle does not stretch well. This raises the pressure inside your heart and can lead to fluid build-up around your lungs and other areas of your body, causing shortness of breath and swelling.
Diastole refers to the period when your heart relaxes between beats.
Diuretic
A class of medicine that helps get rid of extra fluid from your body, including your lungs, feet, legs and around your middle (abdomen). Diuretics work by increasing the amount of urine you produce, which means that you will need to go to the toilet more often while taking the medicine.
Dyspnoea
Another way of saying ‘difficult to breathe’ or being ‘short of breath.’ It is a symptom of heart failure, and can be a sign of worsening heart failure if you are still experiencing dyspnoea even though you are taking your medicines as prescribed. There are other causes of dyspnoea apart from heart failure.
Electrocardiogram (ECG)
A diagnostic test that measures the electrical activity generated by the heart as it contracts. It can detect abnormalities which may be a sign of heart disease.
An ECG is performed with an ECG machine. Wire leads from this machine are stuck to your chest, arms and legs with small sticky dots, which allow it to measure the electrical activity generated by your heart. The ECG machine records the electrical impulses and prints them out on paper. It usually takes about 10 minutes.
Echocardiogram (ECHO)
A diagnostic test which uses soundwaves (an ultrasound) to look at the size and shape of your heart and to learn about the way that it moves. It is very effective at diagnosing heart failure and for checking your heart when you are on medicines for heart failure. An ECHO is used to measure the amount of blood entering and leaving your heart every time it beats, which is called the ejection fraction.
An ECHO is performed with a probe that is either on your chest or sometimes in your oesophagus (food pipe). It usually takes 30-40 minutes.
Ejection fraction
The amount of blood entering and leaving your heart every time it beats, which is expressed as a percentage. A healthy heart will have an ejection fraction that is between 50% and 70%.
Fluid
A fluid is anything that is a liquid at room temperature. People with heart failure usually have to be careful about the amount of fluid they consume each day, including in food.
H-O
Heart attack
A heart attack occurs when the flow of blood through one or more coronary arteries is blocked. This can happen if a person has plaque on their artery wall and the plaque breaks away and forms a clot. It can also happen if a coronary artery wall tears, or if the coronary artery spasms and narrows – reducing the blood supply to the heart. The result is damage to part of the heart muscle so it does not work as well.
A heart attack requires emergency treatment.
Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF)
HFpEF occurs when your heart can pump blood to the rest of your body, but your heart muscle does not stretch well. This raises the pressure inside your heart and can lead to fluid build-up around your lungs and other areas of your body, causing shortness of breath and swelling.
This is also known as diastolic heart failure. Diastole refers to the period when your heart relaxes between beats.
Heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF)
HFrEF occurs when your heart muscle is weakened and is not pumping enough blood to meet the needs of your body. You will be diagnosed with HFrEF if the results of your ECHO show that more than half the volume of blood remains in your heart chamber after each heartbeat.
This is also called systolic heart failure. Systole refers to the period when the heart contracts to pump blood out.
Hypertension
A condition where your blood pressure is higher than it should be. People with hypertension are more likely to develop heart disease, including heart failure.
Ischaemic heart disease
Another way of saying coronary heart disease . Coronary heart disease occurs when the coronary artery becomes narrow or clogged, because of a build-up of plaque (a combination of fat, cholesterol and other substances).
Coronary heart disease can cause chest pain (angina), blood clots, and in extreme cases, heart attacks. It’s also one of the conditions that causes heart failure.
Read the Heart Foundation’s What is coronary heart disease? resource, to find out more about the condition.
Myocardial infarction
Another name for heart attack. A heart attack occurs when the flow of blood through the coronary artery is blocked. This can happen if a person has plaque on their artery wall and the plaque breaks away and forms a clot. It can also happen if a coronary artery wall tears, or if the coronary artery spasms and narrows – reducing the blood supply to the heart.
A heart attack requires emergency treatment.
Myocarditis
Myocarditis is a condition that occurs when the muscular layer of the heart wall is inflamed, which makes it harder for the heart to pump blood. It can be caused by a viral infection, some medicines or because of inflammation in other parts of the body.
Oedema
A build-up of fluid that occurs because your heart is not pumping blood around your body the way it should. This build-up can occur anywhere in your body but people with heart failure may notice it in the arms, legs, ankles and middle.
Oedema is sometimes called ‘fluid build-up’, ‘fluid retention’ or ‘water retention’. A diuretic is a kind of medicine that often helps people with oedema.
Orthopnea
Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing when you're lying down. You may notice you need to add extra pillows to help you breathe when lying down.
Over-the-counter medicine
Medicine that you can buy without a prescription at a pharmacy, and in some cases, a supermarket.
P-Z
Palpitations
A feeling that your heart is pounding or beating faster than it should, or fluttering. It can be a symptom of heart failure.
Paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnoea (PND)
An intense period of shortness of breath or coughing that occurs at night. A person who experiences this may find it so hard to breathe that they cannot sleep through it. You may need to sit or stand up to help your breathing.
Sodium
A mineral that occurs naturally in food and, when combined with chloride, forms table salt. Sometimes sodium and salt are used interchangeably but they are a bit different, as not all salts contain sodium. Table salt is typically made up of 40% sodium.
People with heart failure are often told to reduce the sodium in their diet.
Systolic heart failure
Also known as heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF).
HFrEF occurs when your heart muscle is weakened and is not pumping enough blood to meet the needs of your body. You will be diagnosed with HFrEF if the results of your ECHO show that more than half the volume of blood remains in your heart chamber after each heartbeat.
Systole refers to the period when the heart contracts to pump blood out.