Why is it called heart failure when it is patently obvious its still working and the owner is very much alive and living? Surely it is a sick or ill heart, or diseased?
Why is it called heart failure? - British Heart Fou...
Why is it called heart failure?
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shellarc
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Worst named thing ever. When i first heard it i equated it to engine failure
No cure for that dodgy engine but with TLC & MOT should keep er ticking & motor on for a few mile yet. 😜
Exactly, just sounds wrong.
The name of this condition can be a little confusing. When you have heart failure, it doesn't mean your ticker stopped beating. What's really going on is that your heart can't pump blood as well as a healthy one. 🤔
So its unhealthy, the opposite of healthy - not failed as in stopped completely.
Two days after my heart attack/cardiac arrest I was given an Echo and later that day the consultant. on duty registrar, another doctor and 2 nurses all congregated around my bed. After a few pleasantries, the consultant said " We got the results of your Echo from earlier today, now I don't want you to worry, but you've got heart failure" There were some other words about manage with medication, but to be honest I didn't hear anything that was said after the word failure!
As someone else has said failure = broken, dead. An aero engine fails, my washing machine failed the other week, a computer fails. Failure is a terrible word, I prefer impaired heart function which is what it is. In an age where we try to be upbeat about most prognosis that people face, why do we adhere to the words Heart Failure? It's a painful cruel phrase.
When my late father was told he had heart failure 25 years ago he just gave up....telling a former airman that his 'engine' had failed was devastating.
I was involved in our local CCGs commissioning of the community ' Heart failure service' about 5 years ago. I asked for a more hopeful and optimistic term to be adopted.
It was named the ' Heart Function Improvement Service'
My dad would have loved it.
There is a movement in the HF world to call it by a different name.
Interestingly it is called heart insufficiency in other languages.
Yes, giving up was what I felt like doing that day when I was told I had heart failure. I'm sure that I'm like most people, I knew absolutely nothing about cardiology prior to my own heart attack. Had I known a bit, the words heart failure wouldn't have chilled me the way they did that day. Happily things are nothing like I feared they would be when I heard those words. I don't know, but do medics assume we know a fair bit about medicine, so just blurt out Heart Failure and think we'll understand ?
When my GP told me she suspected I was in HF last year I went numb and didn't hear another word she said. My dad had COPD that led to Congestive Heart Failure and he was dead less than three years after the diagnosis. Until last year that was my only experience with HF so her saying she thought I was in it had me going home and checking my will, teaching my husband how to use the microwave and the steam mop.
FF a few months when after scans and other investigations ruled out HF - when the cardiologist said those magic words I danced out of the consult. He used a few other wonderful words like 'minimal' (about my pericardial effusion) and 'trivial' about my Rheumatic Heart Syndrome caused aortic valve scarring and I am certain I floated out of his office on a cloud of Happy.
The more I learn about HF now from following along on this forum, the more I know it is not the death sentence I thought it, and I add my voice to those saying the dreadful name wants changing. Now would be nice.
Heartache♥️
A feeling like no other, and only if you really feel it could you honestly understand it. 🤔
I was told at heart re hab all heart issues fall into the heart failure umbrella
It really is a cruel expression which doesn't help with anxiety. When I tell my boss that my appointment with the heart failure nurse is iminent, he says I wish you wouldn't call her that so now we just refer to her as Annie.
I had a funny little episode in my bank one afternoon. I wasn't feeling brilliant, had walked too far, it was cold and my lips and fingers had gone purple. The lady in the queue in front of me looked at me and smiled quizzically before asking me if I was ok. I'm fine, I said, just trying to catch my breath. Did you know your lips have gone purple, she asked. Oh, that's ok, I said. I have heart failure, trying to explain by showing her my hands. It was all I could do to stop her from ringing for an ambulance.
I don't know what else we could call it but I have lived with "heart failure" for two years !
I went to hospital with a suspected heart attack in November 2018 when I fainted in the doctor surgery. I was given ecg & blood tests and told it wasn’t but an appointment was made for a chest pain clinic. The doctor had said he was going to do a jelly Test but as a Friday, decided not to. I spent next six weeks over Xmas worrying
I went to chest pain clinic and was seen by the nurse who arranged a jelly test. I came back and she said the I had heart failure with 37% working. She was smiling all the time and Said betablockers would help and i would receive cardiologist appointment in six weeks. My doctor was to give me Biosoprol 2.5mg. I received a date for cardiologist six weeks later for a date in June. Heart failure never been explained to me and my health has deteriorated to having a pacemaker fitted due to a VT after a stent. Only help has been BHF booklets, certainly not the premier heart unit in London.
w33SHAZ1234• in reply to
can i ask what a VT IS had a stent fitted 18 months ago,also what did your EF % drop to?
• in reply tow33SHAZ1234
It is Ventricular Tachycardia where the blood pressure drops and the rate races. Luckily I caught an uber to surgery and was sent to hospital for 10 days as they didn't know what caused it so fitted the ICD/pacemaker. After my stent was fitted the recovery nurse noticed my heart rate increase, it went from 60 to 90 resting. I went to my doctor and he said that was normal. The following Monday I had the VT. I have not seen a cardiologist since the operation despite my GP trying to arrange an appointment in the middle of January.
Yes it's a terrible way of saying things especially when your not expecting it at all. I was diagnosed last September after just a couple of days with breathlessness, not happened since.I then genuinely thought might just be a chest infection. To be told I'm in heart failure was incredibly hard to take in and still is. I don't feel poorly and very rarely am. So yes there has to be another term of passing the news on. In my book any word relating to heart scares me silly now, I'm supposed to be an adult at 64! I doubt I will ever get over being told the news but if it had been worded differently then perhaps I would have been more accepting but I'll never know now!
Hello everyone - well I had my "failure" 20 years ago and it hasn't failed yet! 
Meaning, of course, that I've got along with the condition but subsequently had another "failure" and the decision then made to put in a pacemaker. After 10 years of that, I've necessitated a bi-ventricular pacemaker put in to replace the previous one at age 75. But, crucially, for me the key has always been to not worry about the language being used by the medics but just to concentrate on being alive! It's to do with the word 'faith' more than anything else - the faith that I have a further opportunity to do something with my life: to give thanks for it and get on with life. Hang ups about words has the potential to deviate us from what really is. The medics didn't believe that I was still able to climb the stairs without panting before the bi-ventricular went in, and I'm convinced that it's faith (mental positivity) that will get you through. My attitude must be down to the fact I was thought to have 'failed' the 11+ school entrance exam but subsequently proved 'em all wrong! The word "failure" is just a test of your strength of character!
I hate the term heart failure. It completely floored me when I was told I had heart failure. It is a cruel term. They are words that hurt. I thought, that's it, time up, at just 55 years old. Retirement plans out the window, forget about seeing my son graduate University. I didnt read the information given to me for months I was so scared by the terminology. I still haven't used that term with my elderly parents, I just told them I have a few issues with my heart pumping normally. I don't know why it can't be called something like reduced heart function or reduced heart capacity or anything less dramatic. I think getting the diagnosis would be so much easier without that cruel terminology.
Cardiomyopathy is a much nicer expression. This was my diagnosis three years ago when in af and extremely breathless. It was only later I was told I had heart failure and I explained I referred the other way of expressing it.
I am so pleased you posted this,when I was diagnosed with this 6 yrs ago,i thought the very same...…….a death sentence.Had never heard of it before.On all sorts of medication but it seems to have worked from the onset,and I have came on leaps and bound.One thing that ive always been scared to ask the professionals is does having this make me more prone to having a heart attack.As I have said before on this forum my heart failure was caused by chemotherapy and I also wonder if this makes a difference to it being caused with heart issues
Hi I was diagnosed with HF in Feb not had MRI yet due to covid to see what may have caused it but they think it is chemo that I had in 2014. Hpe you are doing ok? X
Yes thanks,so similar timeline to me 6 yrs after chemotherapy I developed heart failure.
I remember the cardiologist being annoyed that it caused it,I was so poorly for the 3 weeks in hospital,No energy, all swollen due to fluid.Would say now I am at my fittest.Was lucky the meds I got put on had no adverse effects and doing the job.Slightly worried I must admit about covid,apart from my daily power walks I have stayed home for 7 weeks now.Stay well and there is light at end of tunnel,
So glad you are keeping well😊 I also have MS so am limited in my mobility which really worries me ask feel can’t exercise enough for my heart. Take careX
I've always been fit and healthy but had had palpitations and ectopic heart beats for a few years with no problems. Last year I started to experience some breathlessness, nothing desperate but my doctor arranged for me to see a cardiologist. I thought this was a bit over the top, especially as I was able to carry on linedancing 3-4 times a week with no issues! Last August I had an echocardiogram and was fully expecting to be told to go away and not bother them again. Can you imagine the shock to be told "I'm sorry but you have heart failure, it's severe as your EF is 30%" The cardiologist then called a nurse into the room who had a badge on saying "Heart Failure Nurse". I thought I was having a nightmare.
When I asked the nurse later on about the name she apologised and said they don't like it either but it was preferable to one suggestion "Pump Nurse"!
As an engineer I can explain. Failure is a loss of some functionality measured as a percentage. If your car is supposed to be able to travel at 100mph and you can’t get it above 80mph then that is a failure with a loss of 20% of functionality. The heart is supposed to be able to move a certain volume of blood around the body at a certain speed. If part of the heart is damaged then it will move less blood - the higher the % loss the worse you feel until there isn’t sufficient blood flow to maintain life.
Prada47• in reply to
100% correct also being an Engineer it's a perfect way of putting it along with. And if you don't do something about it, it will get progressively worse quite quickly, but like an Engine you can Nurse it along until the Failure really starts to let you down. (Breathlessness )
Heart Failure is a Progressive ailment and as my Heart Nurse says every chance something else will get you before the Heart Failure does !!
What I hate most about it No matter what Pills I pop or what Exercise I take I can only keep it at bay, until I am around 95 years old then I won't care !!! I have Heart Failure
Wonky Heart or not I intend to live life to the Full every day and do what I can to keep it at bay.
I only use the terminology Heart Failure on here because I know quite a lot of people understand the terminology.
EF % = what it's pumps out Mild, Moderate Severe it doesn't really mean a lot !!
NYHA Classification now 1 2 3 4 really does mean how it affects You personally.
I am a Fully Paid up Member of the Wonky Heart Club
😄👍
When I was first diagnosed I felt a fraud as I didn't feel that ill - 34% heart working - and when I was referred to the "The Heart Failure Clinic" - well, I did ask if it could be called something more positive like the "The Heart function clinic". Nothing doing though - still called the Heart Failure clinic.
Marian that's how I am feeling too.Back in Dec 2019 after having an echocardiogram I was diagnosed as having LVSD ( heart failure) and would need an MRI scan. Still waiting for it. But that said prior to fainting originally I have always cycled at least twice a week & continue to do so so I too feel a bit of a fraud. Thankfully after reading this thread I feel a bit more optimistic and will just try to keep getting on with life as it is. Keep well.
Well it's called the Heart Function Improvement clinic in my and other hospitals!
Keep asking .
It annoys me -name should be changed to IHF impaired heart function...
To be fair failure is just the state or condition of not meeting a desirable or intended objective, but when my medication was once referred to as my "Heart Failure" medication I was very taken aback as this term had not been mentioned before in 5 years of appointments. My letters from the hospital now have Chronic Heart Failure as the condition, which is very unhelpful to me as a 44 year old otherwise very healthy person who seems to be doing OK. It's old fashioned and has so much stigma attached to it lets hope it is updated soon, but that may require us to keep asking that it is. All the best and stay safe and well.
On eof the worst terms ever. It really is enough to worry someone newly diagnosed to he point where they suffer depression or worse. They really should come up with a more suitable term that's not so frightening.
Equally as bad as you've got Cirrhosis = "End stage Liver disease." Ops wrong forum, but I've noticed a lot of similar symptoms, not necessarily end off.
Heart & Liver Condition, all in it's nice to be around to chat about it. 🙄
The heart is a pump - and if a pump is not producing adequate pressure or flow (for the intended purpose) it has failed.
Atrial fibrillation and bradycardia and catheter ablations led to my heart failing to the extent that I was disabled, and used a wheelchair.
I put down "heart failure" as the diagnosis when I was buying a rise-and-recline chair and applying for exemption for VAT.
Fortunately, my new pacemaker (and the additional atrial lead) have cured me to the extent that I can now walk 5km most days.
I manage a day centre for the elderly (when not in lockdown), and I remember doing an assessment for a new client some years ago. The medical history said heart failure following heart attack when he was in his 70s. It was the first time I had heard that term used, and I remember thinking we would be treading eggshells in case he keeled over at any moment. As it turned out, he lived to 100 years and 3 months!!
There are many conditions that are very badly worded - in my line of work, I hate the term dementia because the connotation is demented.
YES heart failure is an awful description. We live in France where the condition is called
"Inceficiant cardiaque", which translates as heart working incefficiently, which is a much easier term to deal with.
He was just 64 when he passed December 1985 (birthday was in September). He lived in Southern California (Scottish expat) and had incredibly good health insurance.
But things were different then for how his conditions were treated. COPD at the time had a 3-7 year prognosis, HF 1-3 years.
The medications he was on were so complicated we needed three 7dy compartmented dispensers to keep everything sorted. Thank-goodness for engraving pens and Sharpie permanent markers, it was the only way we knew he wasn't accidentally taking the Monday doses on Sunday - some tablets and capsules were every day, some were every other, and some others were to be taken twice a week.
Then there was the oxygen 24hr/7dys per week, the nebuliser, the Jobst pump (lymph pump), and a few more 'accessories'.
Treatment and 'accessories' have changed - great improvements and had my father been alive nowadays he would have had better prognosis owing to the way things have improved since 1985.
My father died within 6 months of his diagnosis in 1995 aged 72 years.
He told me his breathlessness was like drowning on dry land.
Thank goodness there are now more treatment options such as ICDs. The improved targeted medication to treat heart function problems has improved the quality and length of life of this group of patients too.
One bit I never really understand Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction what's that all about !!
I don't understand it either. I can read the definition a thousand times and nothing clicks. Hopefully someone will reply with an easily understood description of how a heart can beat normally but fail to fill chambers during diastolic action owing to the heart muscle being too stiff to support filling. (See - I know the words but I can't picture it - that part about the heart beating normally defeats my further attempt to wrap my head around the rest)
Heart failure with Preserved Ejection fraction
HFpEF is thought to be a collection of problems including diastolic dysfunction.
The heart chambers fail to relax they stay ' stiff' and resistant This leads to the preservation of the ejection fraction however the power behind the pump of the blood is reduced.
It is more common in women and is associated with microvascular endothelial dysfunction. .
My Cardiologist keeps on eye on my NT pro BNP as I could develop this type of HF in the future.
U are so right especially if u have no symptons when first told I was so scared thought I wasn’t going to live
Its the look on people's faces when you say you have heart failure... especially at end of Parkrun. Yes, I do 5K but with an excuse to be breathless at end... I intend to keep it as healthy as I can with diet and exercise as the drugs make me too ill to function. Dodgy ticker is my preference though... 😊
It’s the power of words. My understanding of what is meant by heart failure has changed completely since I came to this forum.
My dad was diagnosed with heart failure a couple of year’s ago. My sister in law’s dad lived with it for over 20 years.
I think a better word could be found to acknowledge the impairment/ limitations of the condition. May be semantics but I do believe that words, especially in a medical context, can have a powerful effect on peoples’ psyches.
I have two friends who were diagnosed with heart failure years ago...both have led pretty normal lives since then, one working a full-time job, and one, who will be 79 next month and is also diabetic, just had knee replacement surgery a month ago. I have always wondered about the term “heart failure.”
I think most of us agree that it's not the best name for the condition! I think it means the heart is 'failing' to do its job properly but it has not 'failed'. Pretty much like an incompetent employee.
I just hope that HR don't get wind of it and issue it with a written warning or make it redundant!
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