Hello @susikelley and welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect! I'm so glad that you joined us. As you see, one of our moderators has moved your discussion to an active discussion that is currently going on about stiff heart and heart failure. The benefit to this is being able to share like experiences with other members of Connect. Yes, any heart diagnosis can bring on anxiety but at this time it is important to face your fears and seek a second opinion if that seems like the right thing to do.

You say that you have CHF, congestive heart failure, does that mean you are short of breath or have edema (swelling in your extremities)?

I have had a stiff heart for over 20 years and diastolic dysfunction (a mild form of heart failure) and I'm still functioning pretty well. I do have to monitor my activities and not get overly tired, though.

How are you feeling? Please share more about yourself and your symptoms as you are comfortable doing so.

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