DEAR DR. DONOHUE: Six months ago, my wife died in her sleep. She said she just felt shaky and tired out around 6 p.m. When I turned on my light at 4 a.m., I immediately knew she had died. I was told she died of congestive heart failure. She told me she had this two months prior to her death. Was there something we could have done? I carry guilt with me every day. Is congestive heart failure a death sentence? — S.F.

ANSWER: Heart failure indicates that the heart has become a weak pump. “Congestive” often is added to “heart failure” to emphasize that the failing heart causes blood to circulate poorly. Fluid oozes out of vessels and congests body organs, especially the lungs and makes breathing difficult. Congestion also shows in swollen ankles and feet. However, not all people with heart failure show the signs of congestion.

Shortness of breath when lying down, waking from sleep gasping for breath, coughing during the night and the inability to get enough air to accomplish even light physical tasks are signs of heart failure. I can assure you that the world’s most renowned heart doctor would not have expected your wife to die in her sleep because she said she felt tired and shaky. You are entitled to feel sad, but you do not deserve to feel guilty.

Heart failure comes from heart arteries clogged with cholesterol, from heart valve malfunction, from high blood pressure and from heartbeat disturbances like atrial fibrillation. Treatments are available. Water pills draw water from an overfilled circulation, and that eases the burden on the heart. Other medicines increase the strength of the heartbeat. Special pacemakers can restore synchronous beating to the heart’s out-of-sync pumping chambers. Congestive heart failure is not always a death sentence.

My sincerest condolences to you and your family.

The booklet on heart failure describes this common condition in greater detail. Readers can order a copy by writing: Dr. Donohue — No. 103, Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475. Enclose a check or money order (no cash) for $4.75 U.S./$6 Can. with the recipient’s printed name and address. Please allow four weeks for delivery.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I had two cousins, sisters who died of pancreatic cancer less than a year apart. One was two years older than the other. They grew up and lived in the same Midwestern town. I am concerned about their other sister. Could the disease run in the family? Their mother died of cancer at the age of 40, but we don’t know what type of cancer. — Anon.

ANSWER: Two sisters dying of pancreatic cancer makes you sit up and take notice. If a brother, sister or parent had pancreatic cancer, the risk of another family member coming down with it increases by 18 times the risk for a person without such a family history.

Pancreatic cancer most often appears between the ages of 65 and 84. Aging, smoking and chronic inflammation of the gland are other factors involved in its genesis.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: What is the current thinking about the danger coming from airport scanners? Are they dangerous? I mean the radiation from them. — R.M.

ANSWER: A recent article in the Archives of Internal Medicine concluded that the amount of radiation coming from an airport scanner is about the same as the amount people get naturally from three to nine minutes of daily background radiation — not very much.

It’s less than 1 percent of the radiation people get from flying at high altitudes.

This should be comforting information.

However, I read that Transportation Security Administration workers, who could be exposed to scanner radiation in greater amounts, are introducing court action for a claim that fellow workers have a higher-than-normal rate of cancer.

Dr. Donohue regrets that he is unable to answer individual letters, but he will incorporate them in his column whenever possible. Readers may write him or request an order form of available health newsletters at P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475. Readers may also order health newsletters from www.rbmamall.com.

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