The symptoms of congestive heart failure vary because one side of the heart is usually affected before the other.
The blood may be thought of as following a continuous path around the body, and if obstruction to the onward flow occurs at any point, there will be congestion behind it, hence congestive heart failures.
Since the heart supplies blood to all organs, the symptoms of congestive heart failure may relate to any symptom in the body.
Circulatory: Associated with the circulatory system are decreased pulse volume and irregularities in rhythm, extreme coldness, cardiac pain, fast or irregular heartbeat (palpitation), veins filled with blood until it is congested (venous engorgement), oedema of dependent parts.
Respiratory: The symptoms of congestive heart failure associated with the respiratory system are cyanosis (a condition in which the skin and mucous membranes take on a bluish color because there is not enough oxygen in the blood), difficulty in breathing, cough, coughing up of blood or mucus containing blood, cardiac asthma.
Digestive: Symptoms of congestive heart failure associated with the digestive system are persistent loss of appetite, constipation (a condition in which a person has difficulty in eliminating solid waste from the body and the faeces are hard and dry).
Renal: This entails the symptom of heart failure associated with the kidney.
Such symptoms as oliguria, albuminuria (the presence of albumin in urine, usually an indication of kidney disease).
Symptoms of heart failures as highlighted above are life threatening, but if some preventive and treatment measures are strictly adhered to, the risk is lessened.