You'd hardly imagine that drinking a daily glass of water could actually trigger acute heart failure. During the hot summer, after coming back from outside with a throat burning like fire, gulping down a large glass of water in one go unexpectedly led to chest tightness, difficulty breathing, and even swollen feet! A hospital visit revealed it was actually an acute heart failure episode.

Generally speaking, healthy individuals are unlikely to develop heart failure from simply drinking water. However, for those with pre-existing cardiovascular conditions—such as coronary artery disease, myocardial damage, or a history of cardiomyopathy including myocarditis—excessive water intake at once or continuously can easily overburden the heart and is highly likely to induce heart failure.

So what exactly is heart failure?

The heart serves as our body's engine, functioning like a pump that continuously circulates blood throughout the body to deliver nutrients. When the heart's pumping function becomes abnormal—unable to supply sufficient blood flow to meet the needs of organs and tissues—and when blood cannot return smoothly to the heart, the heart itself becomes ischemic and hypoxic. This leads to a series of clinical symptoms such as palpitations, chest tightness, difficulty breathing, and lower limb edema.

Heart failure, as the name suggests, refers to the failure of heart function, also known as cardiac insufficiency.

According to current internationally recognized classification standards, heart failure is primarily categorized into the following three types based on left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF):

Category 1: Heart Failure with Reduced Ejection Fraction (HFrEF): LVEF value <40%

Second Type: Heart Failure with Mildly Reduced Ejection Fraction (HFmrEF): LVEF values range between 40%~49%

Category 3: Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction (HFpEF): The LVEF value is >50%, but the patient exhibits clinical symptoms and signs of heart failure

Clinically, the main method is through echocardiography reports, commonly referred to as cardiac ultrasound reports. Generally, the ejection fraction in normal individuals is above 50%, while heart failure patients may show a decrease.

Key Warning: If a patient's ejection fraction (EF) value is above 50% but they exhibit symptoms of heart failure, failure to receive timely treatment may lead to progressively worsening cardiac function.

After excessive water intake, these 3 typical symptoms may appear, which are likely indicative of heart failure and require immediate attention:

1. Difficulty lying flat at night: Unable to lie down normally during sleep, with sudden onset of chest tightness, breathlessness, and a suffocating sensation like being crushed by a heavy weight on the chest;

2. Chest tightness and coughing: Occasional daytime chest tightness and breathlessness accompanied by frequent dry coughs, with these symptoms becoming more pronounced after activity or exertion.

3. Decreased urine output and bilateral lower limb edema: Waking up in the morning to see feet swollen like loaves of bread.

Those without heart failure may struggle to understand their suffering. For heart failure patients, water intake requires special attention—they cannot drink freely as desired, especially severe cases where fluid intake must be strictly limited. The correct approach is frequent small amounts, stopping when not thirsty.