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Heart failure, which will be highlighted during National Heart Failure Awareness Week from February 8 to 14, is not only a condition that affects older people.

Recent statistics show that heart failure is the only cardiac related disease process that is a growing problem in the United States. The number of deaths resulting from weakened hearts has doubled since 1979, averaging 250,000 annually.

Yet, heart failure is often not recognized. “Symptoms can vary and they are often ignored or thought to be something else,” says Paul J. Mather, M.D. director of the Advanced Heart Failure Center at the Jefferson Heart Institute at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. “Some of the most common symptoms of heart failure such as feeling tired and short of breath are usually mistaken for normal signs of getting older. Unexplained weight gain, with swelling in the legs and ankles from fluid retention, and general weakness are other symptoms of heart failure,” he says.

Despite its name, heart failure does not mean that the heart is suddenly going to stop working or that the person is going to die. “Heart failure usually develops slowly,” Dr. Mather says. “The heart weakens and needs to work harder to keep blood moving through the body. Heart failure can also develop following an injury to the heart from a heart attack, chronic high blood pressure or an abnormality in a heart valve.

“I want people to be aware that heart failure is not a death sentence,” he says. “When diagnosed early, it can be treated effectively with medications and lifestyle accommodations.

“Today, heart failure specialists employ a multidisciplinary approach including state-of-the-art medical therapies which enables the heart failure patient to experience a better quality of life. The key to successfully treating heart failure is early diagnosis and aggressive treatment regimens,” Dr. Mather says.

Only your doctor can tell you if you have heart failure. Dr. Mather recommends that if you suspect you maybe suffering from heart failure, consult a physician.

For an appointment with Dr. Mather or another Jefferson University Hospital heart specialist, call 1-800-JEFF-NOW.