Early Symptoms and Signs of Heart Failure

​Certified by the American Board of Thoracic Surgery since 1998, Dr. Hartmuth Bittner is an accomplished cardiovascular and thoracic surgeon with over three decades of clinical and teaching expertise. Leveraging his expertise, Dr. Hartmuth Bittner now practices at Cardiac Surgery Associates, where he performs various lung and heart surgeries.

Heart failure happens when the heart cannot pump the right amount of blood to other body parts that need oxygen from freshly pumped blood. Over 6.2 million people have heart failure in the United States. It is a potentially fatal condition reported in 13.4 percent of death certificates prepared in 2018, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). If heart failure is caught at an early stage, treatment can help manage the condition to prevent death and other disease complications, promoting a better quality of life.

Based on a report from the American Heart Association, breathlessness is an attribute of heart failure. Severe breathing problems constitute the cause of the majority of deaths from heart failure. In some cases, the severity of breathlessness is augmented by other conditions that sometimes coexist with the disease, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder. Other early symptoms of heart failure include fatigue, swollen legs or ankles, an upset stomach, vomiting, and appetite loss.

American Health Council’s Best in Medicine Award, Dr. Hartmuth Bittner, Sugeon

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