What are the key symptoms of congestive heart failure?

Multiple: Common symptoms include: shortness of breath when laying flat, shortness of breath that wakes you up from sleeping, shortness of breath during activity, foot and ankle swelling. If you have any of these symptoms or other concerns, please see a physician.

Short breath, edema: Leg swelling and shortness of breath with minor activity or when lying flat are signs of chf. However, you need to know that other illnesses could present the same way making it hard for the lay person to differentiate. The solid diagnosis is done by ultrasound of the heart called echo which shows weak heart contractions. If you have these symptoms consult with your doc.