Heart failure

Your heart is a pump. It moves blood through you.

Sometimes the pump works poorly. It cannot move enough blood. This can make you feel very tired. It can also make it hard to breathe.

You might see swelling in your legs. This happens when fluid builds up in your body. Doctors can use tests to help. They can look at your blood. They can also take a picture of your chest. Knowing the cause helps doctors find the right care.

Your heart is a pump. It moves blood to your whole body. Heart failure happens when the heart cannot pump well. It might not fill with enough blood. Or it might not push blood out strongly.

There are different types of heart failure. Left-sided failure affects the left side of the heart. This can cause blood to back up into the lungs. It may make it hard to breathe.

Right-sided failure affects the right side. This can cause fluid to build up in the body. You might see swelling in your legs or feet. This is called edema.

Many things can cause this. High blood pressure is one cause. A heart attack can also cause it. Some people have a condition called cardiomyopathy. This means the heart muscle is changed.

Doctors use many ways to find the cause. They may use blood tests. They might use an echocardiography. This is a test that uses sound to see the heart. Doctors can also use a chest X-ray. Treatment can include new habits or medicine. Some people may need a device like a pacemaker.

Your heart works like a pump to move blood through your body. Heart failure happens when this pump cannot do its job well. It might struggle to fill with enough blood or fail to push blood out strongly.

This condition is also called congestive heart failure. This name comes from congestion, which is when fluid builds up in your body. It is a serious condition that can affect many people. In 2015, about 40 million people in the world had heart failure.

There are different ways the heart can fail. Left-sided failure affects the left side of the heart. This side usually takes oxygen-rich blood from the lungs and sends it to the body. If it fails, blood can back up into the lungs. This makes it hard to breathe and can cause tiredness.

Right-sided failure affects the right side of the heart. This can cause fluid to build up in other parts of the body. You might see swelling in your legs, feet, or even your abdomen. This swelling is called edema.

Sometimes, both sides of the heart are affected, which is called biventricular heart failure.

Many things can cause the heart to change its shape or how it works. Common causes include high blood pressure and coronary artery disease. A heart attack can also cause damage. Some people have cardiomyopathy, which means the heart muscle is changed.

Other causes include infections, drinking too much alcohol, or even certain vitamins being too low. Even things like sleep apnea can be a cause. If more than one cause is present, the condition might get worse faster.

Doctors have many ways to find out if someone has heart failure. They look at symptoms and use physical exams. They might use an echocardiography, which is a test to see how the heart is working. A chest X-ray or blood tests can also help find the cause.

Doctors also look at the ejection fraction. This is a way to measure how well the heart pumps blood out. They might check if the pulse pressure is low, which can be an early warning sign.

Treatment depends on how severe the heart failure is. For mild cases, people might make lifestyle changes. This can include exercising more, changing their diet, or not smoking. Doctors may also give medicines to help the heart.

Some people might need a device like a pacemaker or a defibrillator. In very serious cases, a person might need a device to help the heart pump or even a heart transplant. People have known about this condition since ancient times in Egypt. It was even mentioned in the Ebers Papyrus around 1550 BCE.

Heart failure, often called congestive heart failure, is a complex medical syndrome. It occurs when the heart cannot pump blood effectively to meet the body's needs. This impairment affects the heart's ability to fill with blood or pump it out.

Because the heart fails as a pump, it can cause cardiovascular insufficiency. This means the circulatory system does not receive enough blood. The term "congestive" describes a common symptom where fluid accumulates in tissues. This buildup is known as edema. Heart failure is a major global health issue. In 2015, it affected approximately 40 million people worldwide. It is a leading cause of hospital stays for older adults.

The mechanism of heart failure involves changes in heart structure or function. When the heart cannot pump well, blood can back up into the veins. This creates high filling pressure in the left atrium. This pressure leads to fluid accumulation and water retention.

If the heart cannot push enough blood forward, tissues may experience ischemia. Ischemia happens when there is inadequate blood flow to body tissues. Doctors often measure the severity of this condition using ejection fraction. This is a measurement of how much blood the heart pumps out with each beat. They also look at pulse pressure, which is the difference between systolic and diastolic blood pressure. A low pulse pressure, specifically 25% or less of the systolic level, can be an early warning sign.

There are three distinct types of heart failure based on which part is affected. Left-sided heart failure affects the left side of the heart. This side normally takes oxygen-rich blood from the lungs and sends it to the body. When it fails, blood backs up into the lungs. This can cause pulmonary edema, which is fluid in the air sacs of the lungs.

Right-sided heart failure affects the right side of the heart. This side handles blood returning from the body. Failure here often leads to systemic congestion. This causes swelling in the legs, feet, or abdomen.

Biventricular heart failure occurs when both sides of the heart are affected. This is common because left-sided failure can eventually stress the right ventricle. If one side fails, the condition often progresses to involve both sides.

Symptoms vary significantly depending on the specific type of failure. Left-sided failure often presents with respiratory issues. Patients may experience dyspnea, which is shortness of breath during exertion or at rest. Some people experience orthopnea, which is increased breathlessness when lying down. Severe cases might involve paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea, a sudden attack of shortness of breath during sleep.

Right-sided failure symptoms are often visible in the body. This includes peripheral edema, which is swelling in the limbs. It can also cause ascites, which is fluid accumulation in the abdominal cavity. In severe cases, liver enlargement or jaundice may occur due to congestion. Patients may also experience nocturia, or frequent urination at night, as fluid returns to the bloodstream while lying down.

Many different factors can cause the heart to change its structure or function. Common causes include coronary artery disease and high blood pressure. A myocardial infarction, or heart attack, is also a frequent cause. Other factors include atrial fibrillation, valvular heart disease, and excessive alcohol consumption.

Infections like myocarditis, which is inflammation of the heart muscle, can contribute. Even sleep apnea is considered an independent cause. Some rare causes include exposure to toxins like lead or cobalt. Genetic predisposition also plays a major role in how the condition develops.

Diagnosis involves looking at symptoms and using specialized medical tools. Doctors use echocardiography to visualize how the heart is working. They may also use chest X-rays and blood tests to find underlying causes. Treatment depends on how severe the case is. For mild or stable cases, lifestyle changes like exercise and diet are recommended. Medications such as beta blockers or diuretics help manage the condition. Diuretics are used specifically to prevent fluid retention and shortness of breath.

For more severe cases, implanted devices like pacemakers or defibrillators may be used. In extreme situations, a ventricular assist device or a heart transplant might be necessary.

Heart failure is a serious condition with significant statistics. It affects about 2% of all adults and over 10% of people over age 70. The risk of death is quite high in the early stages. About 35% of patients die within the first year after diagnosis. However, for those who survive the first year, the risk drops to less than 10% in the second year. This mortality rate is comparable to some types of cancer. Understanding heart failure is vital because it is a common and costly condition that impacts millions of lives.