It’s common to feel tired from time to time—whether it’s due to stress, poor sleep, or a temporary illness. However, if you’re feeling constantly exhausted without an obvious cause, it could be a sign of something more serious that requires urgent medical attention.
Professor Julia Newton, a renowned consultant geriatrician, spoke to the British Heart Foundation about the distinction between normal tiredness and a condition that might indicate a severe health issue. Fatigue, she explained, isn’t just the grogginess you feel after a restless night—it’s an overwhelming sense of low energy, where you might start your day feeling relatively well, only to find your “battery” running low far too quickly. One common sign is waking up still feeling as drained as you did the day before, even after a seemingly restful sleep.
While persistent tiredness can have various causes, it can also be a key indicator of heart failure—a condition that affects approximately 900,000 people in the UK and is often diagnosed too late to prevent significant damage.
Dr. James Wetherby, a cardiologist, highlighted that fatigue is one of the earliest yet frequently overlooked symptoms of heart failure. Heart failure occurs when the heart is unable to pump blood effectively, either due to weakness or stiffness, and the body’s organs and tissues don’t receive enough oxygen. This can lead to a wide range of debilitating symptoms, which may develop gradually or appear suddenly.
Key Symptoms of Heart Failure
Alongside fatigue, heart failure can cause several other symptoms, including:
- Shortness of breath (even at rest)
- Swelling in the legs, ankles, or feet
- Unexplained weight gain
- Confusion or dizziness
- Persistent cough or wheezing
- A bloated stomach
- Loss of appetite
- Rapid heart rate or palpitations
Dr. Wetherby emphasized that fatigue in heart failure is due to the heart’s inability to deliver oxygen-rich blood to muscles and tissues, leaving the body feeling exhausted.
Heart failure is often diagnosed late, with around 40% of patients discovering the condition after significant damage has been done. The NHS stresses that symptoms can vary, and the condition may develop gradually over weeks or months (chronic heart failure) or appear suddenly (acute heart failure). This means that catching the symptoms early is crucial to improving outcomes.
Reducing Your Risk
Fortunately, there are ways to reduce your risk of developing heart failure or manage its symptoms. The NHS recommends making several lifestyle changes, including:
- Eating a balanced, heart-healthy diet with plenty of fruits and vegetables, starchy foods (like bread, rice, and pasta), lean proteins (such as fish, eggs, and beans), and limiting saturated fat, salt, and sugar.
- Engaging in regular physical activity.
- Quitting smoking.
In some cases, medical interventions like medications, implanted devices, or even surgery (such as a heart transplant) may be needed to manage the condition.
If you’re experiencing persistent fatigue, it’s important to consult a healthcare professional. While tiredness can be a symptom of many different factors, it could also be an early warning sign of a much larger health concern—one that could be managed more effectively with timely intervention.
