Heart failure: When to call your health care provider

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For problems or concerns, call your health care provider and identify yourself as a patient with heart failure having the following symptoms:

shortness of breath that is new, becomes worse, or occurs when you lie flat; waking up breathless at night	fatigue, weakness, loss of energy, dizziness	chest discomfort not relieved by nitroglycerin
coughing at night or cough that won’t go away (chronic)	swollen feet, ankles and legs more than usual	nausea with abdominal swelling, pain and tenderness
weight gain of 3 pounds in a day or 5 pounds in a week

For an emergency, call 911. Do not drive yourself to get help.

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Related Links

Heart failure: When to call 911

Heart failure

Health care directives (living wills, advance directives)

Cardiovascular disease specialists

Emergency medicine specialists

First published: 09/15/2006
Last updated: 10/19/2006

Reviewed by: Allina Patient Education experts