The Summerland Advocate-Messenger - Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community

A woman had been feeling short of breath for several weeks. Physical activities which had previously been easy for her were becoming a chore. In fact, simply laying down resulted in difficulty breathing. She had gained some weight and her legs were swollen.

This woman was a patient of mine and she was in heart failure. This doesn’t necessarily mean her heart was going to completely stop, but it was having trouble keeping up. For whatever reason, her heart struggled to pump and fluid was building up in her body, adding more strain. It was a vicious circle and it was getting worse.

After listeni...