5 unexpected signs of heart failure
These could be clues that your heart isn’t pumping efficiently.
Jan 18, 2026
Written byPatrick Sullivan
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Slide 1
Heart failure doesn’t mean what you probably think it means: That your heart suddenly—and catastrophically—stops beating. Rather, it means that the heart is not as efficient as it once was and can’t deliver enough oxygen-rich blood as the body needs. It’s a serious condition, but it sounds like it should be pretty easy to know if you have it. That’s not always the case, however; heart failure can be mild, and shares symptoms with a number of other conditions, including a cold or flu, depression, various cancers and even PMS. Here are the signs you need to watch out for.
Medically reviewed in November 2019.