Around 10,000 new cases of heart failure are diagnosed in Ireland every year, yet just 7% of Irish people are able to identify three symptoms of the condition, a major new European survey has revealed.

According to the Irish Heart Foundation (IHF), heart failure is on the increase because of our ageing population, rising obesity levels and poor lifestyle choices, yet thousands of people are at risk of missing serious symptoms due to a lack of awareness.

Heart failure is a potentially life-threatening condition which leads to the heart being unable to pump enough blood around the body. Around 20 million people are affected worldwide, including around 90,000 in Ireland.

Symptoms include tiredness, shortness of breath, dizziness and swollen ankles.

The survey questioned 11,000 people throughout Europe about the condition, including 1,000 people in Ireland. However, just 7% of those surveyed in Ireland could name three symptoms, while almost 90% mistook common heart failure symptoms as normal signs of ageing.

Most people were more afraid of suffering a stroke or a heart attack than of developing heart failure. And one in seven people thought that heart failure patients live longer than those with advanced breast or bowel cancer, and those who have suffered a stroke or heart attack, even though heart failure is actually more deadly.

Furthermore, one in four Irish people would wait longer than a week to seek medical advice, or would not bother seeking advice at all, if they had common heart failure symptoms.

IHF medical director, Dr Angie Brown, described the survey results as ‘shocking'.

"Studies have shown that 60% of heart failure sufferers will die within five years of experiencing the condition, which is higher than many of the most common forms of cancer. Heart failure also has a massive impact on our health services at a time when they are struggling to cope. Indeed 42% of cardiovascular hospital bed time is currently related to heart failure admission," she commented.

She said that this is a ‘significant burden on finite resources' and emphasised that timely interventions could ‘significantly improve patients' quality of life and longevity, as well as making huge cost savings'.

Also commenting on the findings, Prof Kenneth McDonald, a consultant cardiologist at St Vincent's Hospital, said that it is ‘worrying' that so few people are able to identify the symptoms of heart failure.

"Early diagnosis and intervention is key to managing heart failure. People can have active and comfortable lives if it's caught promptly. However when symptoms go unrecognised, heart failure can have a huge impact on quality of life. The importance of heart health cannot be ignored. I would urge everyone to become more familiar with the signs of heart failure," he said.

The survey was sponsored by Novartis and the results were released to coincide with European Heart Failure Awareness Day (May 9).

For more information on heart health, see our Heart Disease Clinic here