heart failure is on the rise in canada. do you know what to look out for?
the early stages of this common disease are often overlooked by those who have it
4 minute read
this story is sponsored by
two of canada’s leading research-based pharmaceutical companies
this story was created by content works, postmedia’s commercial content division, on behalf of a client.
back in 2005, on a sunny august morning, kevin lobo was out for a walk with his dog in the yonge and st. clair area of toronto when he noticed his heart was beating faster than usual. as he continued his walk, lobo began to sweat more than he would expect, given his casual pace and the cooler morning temperature. he was concerned, but not enough to turn home.
a friend drove by, heading eastbound on st. clair avenue, and the two men waved to each other. moments later, lobo looked down and noticed that his foot had swollen, as he describes, “to the size of a grapefruit.” his dog noticed it too.
“my dog was looking at my foot and whining softly, as if he knew something was wrong.” lobo realized something serious was happening. he called his friend and told him, “i think i’m going to have a heart attack.” lobo recalls the sound of his friend hitting the brakes several blocks away as the car peeled back to lobo’s location. “thinking back, i should have called 9-1-1,” says lobo.
lobo was taken to sunnybrook hospital. after several hours, multiple tests and treatment, he was told it wasn’t a heart attack, but he would be admitted for further testing.
“in the back of my mind, i was thinking of my mom, who passed away from heart disease at age 45,” he says. in fact, lobo’s parents had told him that heart disease ran in the family, and as lobo recounts, it had claimed the lives of many close family members. “i was aware that this is the hand i’ve been dealt, but it wasn’t until that day in 2005 that i really woke up.”
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dr. anique ducharme, founder and director of the heart failure clinic at the montreal heart institute (mhi) and president of the canadian heart failure society proposes an analogy to better explain heart failure – likening it to a water pump.
“if the sump pump in your house doesn’t work, water will build up in your basement… if [your heart] isn’t working properly, fluid will back up in the legs or in the lungs.”
this would explain the symptoms of heart failure, which can include shortness of breath, coughing, fatigue, rapidly progressive weight gain, bloating or a feeling of fullness, and swelling in the feet, ankles, legs, due to fluid retention.
“the symptoms are non-specific – and that may be one of the reasons people do not recognize heart failure, as they would other serious disease such as cancer,” explains ducharme. “if you notice a lump in your breast, you know you need to seek medical attention. but if you’re elderly and you’re short of breath, you blame it on age or what you had for dinner.”
heart failure also differs from a heart attack, which is a sudden event. “heart failure is insidious, with symptoms, such as shortness of breath beginning gradually and worsening over time. it’s very difficult to pinpoint a date and time when it begins, so that is probably part of the confusion,” says ducharme. it is ducharme’s mission to raise awareness of this life-threatening illness, as early identification enables earlier management strategies that can make an important difference to those who suffer from heart failure.
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accomplishing this mission means educating the public on both the signs and symptoms of heart failure, as listed above, but also the risk factors. these can include causes such as a previous myocardial infarction (heart attack), which damages the heart muscle. even common conditions such as high blood pressure and diabetes, or any situation that causes damage to the heart, such as drug and alcohol abuse and certain cancer therapies, can put an individual at risk for heart failure.
so, understanding one’s own risk, combined with familiarity with the signs of heart failure can be empowering factors – both in terms of prevention, but also when it comes to getting an earlier diagnosis, should the symptoms appear.
canadians living with heart failure face a high rate of hospitalization, signaling a decline in their heart function and overall quality of life. for patients to benefit from pharmaceutical research and new treatments, their condition must first be identified and diagnosed correctly.
“today, there are several diagnostic tests to identify heart failure earlier than ever before,” notes ducharme. in addition to more precise imaging, heart failure can be identified through a blood test that looks for a substance called brain natriuretic peptide, or bnp, which is associated with heart failure development. “unfortunately, this test is not yet widely available in canada,” says ducharme.
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this reality underscores another pillar of ducharme’s advocacy – ensuring widespread availability of diagnostic tests and rapid adoption with minimal barriers to new proven therapies for heart failure.
the heart and stroke foundation’s 2022 spotlight on heart failure found that heart failure is a growing epidemic, with 750,000 canadians living with the disease and more than 100,000 receiving a diagnosis each year. and as age itself is a risk factor, that number is expected to rise. our healthcare system will need to rise to the challenge in response.
as for lobo, since his diagnosis he has been monitored regularly and is on medication. the triple bypass and new heart valve he received were only the beginning of his therapy, which focuses on making balanced eating and physical activity choices. he gets regular exercise and has changed the way he eats – smaller portions, less animal fat, and more fruits and vegetables. as a result, he has lowered both his weight and his risk of a cardiovascular event, and despite being 16 years older than that day that led to his diagnosis, he is feeling better too.
for more information about the signs and symptoms of heart failure visit heartfailure.ca and if you have heart failure, visit heartlife.ca for support about living with the condition.
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this story was created by content works, healthing.ca’s commercial content division, on behalf of two of canada’s leading research-based pharmaceutical companies.
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