Fatigue or low exercise capacity from heart failure

People with heart failure often report that they have less energy, are more tired than usual, or are generally feeling fatigued. The experience of low exercise capacity can be more difficult to describe. It is a symptom that people with heart failure often do not even notice because they have gradually reduced the level at which they exert themselves.

For example, they may stop walking up the stairs, or they may drive to the store instead of walking. Some people at first deny that they have been experiencing this symptom. It is only after doctors ask them about changes in their activities that they realize they have been avoiding physical exertion. This decrease in your ability to exert yourself physically is what doctors call low exercise capacity.