Final answer:
Left-sided congestive heart failure often leads to pulmonary edema and difficulty breathing, while right-sided failure may cause swelling in the lower extremities and fatigue due to systemic venous congestion.
Step-by-step explanation:
The classic early manifestations of left-sided congestive heart failure are pulmonary edema and symptoms such as difficulty breathing and potential chest pain, due to the fact that the left ventricle can't pump sufficient blood into the systemic circulation, causing a backup of fluid in the lungs. In contrast, the early indicators of right-sided heart failure involve systemic venous congestion, which can present as swollen ankles and feet, fatigue, and an enlarged liver, as a result of increased pressure in the vena cava leading to a backlog of blood in the body's circulation.
When the left side of the heart fails, there's a rise in pressure entering the left side and a drop in aortal pressure, causing fluid to back up into the lungs. For right-sided heart failure, the failure results in a rise in the pressure in the vena cava and a drop in pressure in the arteries to the lungs, leading to systemic symptoms.