Short of breath is a common symptom of HF. Contact your cardiologist because probably you need an adjustment in your medication.

Jesus

Well, you can't really disagree with Jesus;-) Definitely, see your doc. It's easy to confuse symptoms of asthma & CHF. In my experience, I've found that whenever I felt short of breath, it was usually due to my retaining extra water that day (usu as a result of having too much salt the day before). When that occurs, I'll pop an extra Lasix & I'm fine after a few hours. But, you should discuss this with your doc first because I've the impression you're fairly new to CHF which means you've yet to recognize all of the wonderful ways your body responds to too much of this & not enough of that. Once you've a better understanding of how your body reacts to things, you'll be able to tweak with your meds a little. And, yes, when you get sick with a cold, etc., you feel it WAY more. But your doc can tell you if your sick or something CHF related

Definitely contact your doctor. With as much going on as you have, probably a doctor is the only one who can sort it all out. Some things could be related to more than one issue, let the doctor know all the symptoms you are having, etc.

I have CHF because of aortic valve failure. Shortness of breath and fatigue are the only symptoms I have. My understanding is that they will only get worse unless I have the heart valve replaced. I must limit salt as much as possible. I have found that it is very difficult: all prepared foods and many of the ingredients I use (like chicken broth) have lots of salt. It is discouraging to have to cook a chiucken to get chicken broth.

Lynne, I am assuming that you are even more short of breath than when first diagnosed with CHF. Is that right?

I don't have CHF, but my husband does, and with what he went through, I have a whole different picture of what it means to be short of breath.

Also, I can't imagine but what the other issues that you have, whether chronic, or a temporary infection, would contribute to the extent that you feel that way or generally crummy.

One concern I have for heart failure patients is hypothyroidism. My husband is also hypothyroid. If a person is diagnosed with hypothyroidism, that's fine. They can take thyroid supplements and be regulated to be normal. Undiagnosed, being hypothyroid will make a person feel horrible.

The reason for my concern in connection with CHF, is that trying for extremely low sodium, table salt is usually the first thing that is recommended to avoid. Unfortunately, it is the table salt that is iodized and iodine is an essential nutrient for the thyroid.

The other factor is eating foods grown in areas of the country that may or may not have sufficient iodine in the soil. Generally, inland areas or places of high elevation have lower amounts of iodine in the soil. Eating seafood or seaweed could help if it is not also too high in sodium.

But perhaps the best approach is just to get the thyroid tested frequently to be sure it is not an issue.

Sometimes it's just a matter of people with HF have a crummy day now and then. (I had one Monday, where I was taking a nap every couple of hours.) I have COPD in addition to HF, and in fact, the COPD was diagnosed first and only the fact that I had an enlarged heart on an x-ray (taken to rule out pneumonia) caused my doctor to refer me to a cariodlogist. If you feel more than usually crummy after a day or so, I'd call the doctor.

Thanks for the responses. I was really checking to see if you get anything while already having CHF, do you get sicker than "healthy" people? And, I do feel better. Just seems that things wipe me out quicker and harder than a "healthy" person.

Yes, I suspect you're right about it not taking as much to be "laid low" by a bug as a person with a decent heart. All the more reason for getting a flu shot!

My husband is fighting off a cold now, and the most difficult thing is that he has to be careful which OTC remedies will be ok with his other meds, so that makes it harder all by itself.

I think getting sick is worse when you've got CHF, as I have been battling illness for 2 weeks now. Got sick 2 weeks ago today, and ended up in hospital the Friday that followed. Got diagnosed with bronchitis that was settling in my lungs. Went through a z-pack of antibiotics and a regimen of steroids for my wheezing lungs. I'm sicker now then I was then. To make things worse, I'm on an extended visit with my parents in NY --far away from my own doctors in Colorado. I have an appt with my parents family doctor tomorrow. This totally sucks.