Heart failure: symptoms during sleep should not be ignored.

Heart failure is a condition where the heart is unable to pump enough blood to meet the body's needs. And many warning signs of heart failure are most apparent at night.

Heart failure should be checked if the following symptoms occur while sleeping:

Difficulty breathing when lying down.

One of the common signs of heart failure is shortness of breath when lying down, forcing patients to use a high pillow or sleep sitting up to breathe more easily. This is because fluid builds up in the lungs, obstructing breathing, according to the health website Medical News Today (UK).

Because fluid accumulates in the lungs, heart failure patients need to elevate their heads with pillows to make breathing easier.

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When standing, gravity helps blood flow to the lower part of the body. But when lying down, more of this blood is concentrated towards the heart. A weakened heart cannot pump this blood efficiently, causing it to pool in the lungs and feel suffocated.

Waking up suddenly due to suffocation.

Paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea is a condition where a person suddenly wakes up from sleep due to a feeling of suffocation. This feeling can last from a few minutes to several hours, often occurring in the middle of the night, causing the sufferer to sit up or get out of bed to breathe more easily.

Coughing and wheezing at night

People with heart failure often experience a persistent cough, especially at night. This isn't a cough caused by a sore throat or the flu, but rather a result of fluid buildup in the lungs. The cough is usually dry, but in severe cases, it may be accompanied by pinkish phlegm due to blood.

Nighttime wheezing is often mistaken for asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The difference is that people with heart failure will also have symptoms such as leg swelling, fatigue, and shortness of breath when lying down.

Frequent nighttime urination may be a sign of heart failure.

A healthy person usually doesn't need to wake up to urinate more than once during the night. However, for people with heart failure, waking up multiple times to urinate is common. This is because when lying down, fluid that accumulates in the legs during the day is reabsorbed into the bloodstream, filtered through the kidneys, and produces urine.

Experts recommend that people who frequently wake up 2-4 times a night to urinate, along with leg swelling, shortness of breath, or fatigue, should have their heart function checked, according to Medical News Today .

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/suy-tim-trieu-chung-luc-ngu-khong-duoc-chu-quan-185250731183504744.htm