India, Nov. 9 -- Heart failure is far more common than most people realise - yet many don't know how to recognise it. Popular culture has shaped our understanding of it as a dramatic medical emergency - someone clutching their chest and collapsing from sudden pain. But in reality, it rarely begins that way. The early stages of heart failure often creep in quietly, with symptoms so subtle that most people dismiss them as fatigue, poor sleep, or indigestion.

Dr Dmitry Yaranov, a cardiologist and heart transplant surgeon, specialising in advanced heart failure, heart transplantation, and mechanical circulatory support, is drawing attention to how heart failure often begins silently - with subtle symptoms that many overlook until it's too la...