Heart failure is a condition where the heart doesn't work as well as it should. It can get worse over time, so it's important to know the different stages of heart failure to understand how it affects a person's health and what treatments can help.
Cheryl Rogers, NP-C, CHFN, a cardiology provider at the Riverside Heart & Vascular Institute, says, "It’s important to catch heart failure early and to treat each person based on what they need. This helps people live healthier lives even with heart failure."
The Four Stages of Heart Failure
Providers use four stages to describe heart failure: A, B, C, and D. Each stage tells us how serious the heart failure is and what the person might need to feel better.
Stage A: At Risk for Heart Failure
What It Means: In Stage A, a person doesn't have heart failure yet, but they have other health problems that could lead to it. This could be things like high blood pressure, diabetes, or a family history of heart disease.
What to Do: To stay healthy, people in Stage A should eat healthy foods, exercise, avoid smoking, and manage stress. Your provider might also give them medicine to help with blood pressure or other problems.
Stage B: Heart Problems but No Symptoms
What It Means: In Stage B, the heart has some damage, like from a heart attack, but the person doesn’t feel sick yet. They don't have symptoms of heart failure.
What to Do: Your provider will try to stop the heart failure from getting worse. They might give the person medicine or suggest surgery to fix heart problems.
Stage C: Feeling the Symptoms of Heart Failure
What It Means: People in Stage C have heart damage and start feeling symptoms like being really tired, having trouble breathing, or swelling in their legs.
What to Do: To feel better, people in Stage C should take their medicine, follow a healthy lifestyle, and maybe use devices that help the heart. It’s important to visit the doctor regularly.
Stage D: Severe Heart Failure
What It Means: Stage D is the most serious stage. People in this stage have symptoms all the time, even when they’re resting, and it’s hard to do daily activities.
What to Do: Your provider will focus on making you as comfortable as possible. They might suggest treatments like a heart transplant, special devices to help the heart, or care to help with symptoms.
Conclusion
“Heart failure is a chronic medical condition,” says Rogers. “But just because it is a chronic condition does not mean that it is going to take over your life. Working closely with your health care team, we can help you tailor a plan to manage your heart failure effectively, which could bring you a better quality of life.”
If you believe you may be at risk for heart failure a good starting point would be talking to your primary care provider. Your PCP can help you understand what could be causing your symptoms by running tests and involving a cardiologist if further testing is needed. Don’t have a primary care provider? Riverside can help. To find a full list of primary care providers who are accepting new patients click here.
Connect with other heart failure patients and caregivers at Riverside’s Free Heart Failure Support Group. All meetings are free, and walk-ins are welcome! Visit our event summary for dates and topic information.