Left versus right heart failure
Left: blood backs up into the lungs. Dyspnea, orthopnea, paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea, crackles, pink frothy sputum, cough, fatigue, S3 gallop. Right: blood backs up into the body. Peripheral edema, jugular distension, hepatomegaly, ascites, weight gain, nocturia. Most often the left fails first and the right follows. Self-monitoring: daily weight at the same time, low sodium intake, report a gain of 2 kg in two days or 2.5 kg in a week, and take diuretics in the morning.