Never Ignore the Symptoms of Early Heart Failure

Years ago, after interviewing Dr. Michael McDonald, I asked, “Will you be my

cardiologist?” Now, as I reach my 100th year I’m grateful his sound

advice has kept me alive. He’s associated with the world class Peter

Munk Cardiac Center affiliated with the University of Toronto. During my

visit he stressed that more patients would be living longer if they

reported to their doctors the early signs of heart failure. Prevention

is always better than cure.

Never forget this fact. We are all living longer and so is our heart. Today, if you’re over the age of 65, heart failure is the most common reason for being admitted to hospital. And when heart failure starts, this means a life expectancy of 2.1 to 5 years.

I never fail to be amazed when I listen to a patient’s heartbeat. It only stops beating when life ends. In the meantime, by the age 70 this remarkable machine has been beating 2.5 billion times without any holiday. What other organ of the body would agree to such punishment?

What can go wrong to trigger heart failure? The main cause is a previous heart attack that has caused death to part of the heart’s muscle. This injury reduces the heart’s ability to pump adequate amount of blood to the rest of the body.

Support Canada Free Press