Heart failure
Say it: HART FAYL-yur
Heart failure is a long-term condition in which the heart fails to pump as much blood as the body needs, even though it has not stopped beating.
Also: cardiac failure, CHF
Definition
What is heart failure?
In heart failure the heart pumps too little blood for the body's needs, either because the muscle is too weak to squeeze well or too stiff to fill properly. Despite the name, the heart keeps beating. It usually develops slowly from conditions that damage or overwork the heart, chiefly coronary artery disease and past heart attacks, long-standing high blood pressure, diseases of the heart muscle or valves, and diabetes. It can affect either side of the heart or both, and left-sided failure often leads to right-sided failure over time.
As output falls, the kidneys hold on to salt and water, and hormone systems such as the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system narrow blood vessels and speed up the heart, which helps at first but strains the heart further. Fluid backs up into the lungs, causing breathlessness that is often worse when lying flat, and into the legs and abdomen as edema; this congestion gave the older name congestive heart failure.
Doctors diagnose it from the symptoms, an examination, a blood test for natriuretic peptides and an echocardiogram, an ultrasound scan that shows how much blood each beat pumps out. There is no cure, but medicines such as beta blockers, ACE inhibitors, diuretics and SGLT2 inhibitors, implanted devices and lifestyle changes help many people live longer.
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Terms that go with it
- HeartThe heart is the hollow, muscular organ in the chest whose four chambers pump blood through the lungs and then around the rest of the body.
- Cardiac outputCardiac output is the volume of blood each ventricle of the heart pumps in one minute, equal to heart rate multiplied by stroke volume.
- EdemaEdema is swelling caused by excess fluid collecting in the spaces between the cells of a tissue, most often seen in the feet, ankles and legs.
- Renin–angiotensin–aldosterone systemThe renin–angiotensin–aldosterone system is a hormone cascade, begun by renin from the kidneys, that raises blood pressure and blood volume when they fall.
- HypertensionHypertension is a long-term condition in which the pressure of blood against artery walls stays higher than normal, straining the heart and vessels.
- Myocardial infarctionA myocardial infarction, or heart attack, is the death of part of the heart muscle after its blood supply through a coronary artery is suddenly cut off.
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