Heart failure is a condition in which the heart can’t pump enough blood throughout the body. Heart failure does not mean that your heart has stopped or is about to stop working. It means that your heart is not able to pump blood the way that it should. The heart can’t fill with enough blood or pump with enough force, or both. Go to the How the Heart Works section for details.
Heart failure develops over time as the pumping action of the heart grows weaker. It can affect the left side, the right side, or both sides of the heart. Most cases involve the left side where the heart can’t pump enough oxygen-rich blood to the rest of the body. With right-sided failure, the heart can’t effectively pump blood to the lungs where the blood picks up oxygen.
The weakening of the heart’s pumping ability causes:
- Blood and fluid to "back up" into the lungs
- The buildup of fluid in the feet, ankles, and legs
- Tiredness and shortness of breath
Heart failure is a serious condition. About 5 million people in the United States have heart failure, and the number is growing. Each year, another 550,000 people are diagnosed for the first time. It contributes to or causes about 300,000 deaths each year.
What Causes Heart Failure?
The leading causes of heart failure are:
CAD, including angina (AN-ji-na or an-JI-na) and heart attack is the most common underlying cause of heart failure. People who have a heart attack are at high risk of developing heart failure.
Most people with heart failure also have high blood pressure, and about one in three has diabetes.
Other Causes of Heart Failure
- Cardiomyopathy (a disease of the heart muscle)
- Diseases of the heart valves
- Abnormal heartbeats or arrhythmias (a-RITH-me-as)
- Congenital heart defects (a heart defect or problem you are born with)
Other conditions that may injure the heart muscle and lead to heart failure include:
- Treatments for cancer, such as radiation and certain chemotherapy drugs
- hyroid disorders (having either too much or too little thyroid hormone in the body)
- Alcohol abuse
- HIV/AIDS
- Cocaine and other illegal drug use
Who Is At Risk for Heart Failure?
Heart failure can happen to anyone, but it’s more common in:
- People 65 years of age and older
- African Americans
Heart failure is very common in people 65 years of age and older. It’s the #1 reason for a hospital visit in this age group. African Americans are more likely to have heart failure and suffer more severely from it. African Americans are more likely to:
- Develop symptoms at an earlier age
- Have their heart failure get worse faster
- Have more hospital visits
- Die from heart failure
Men have a higher rate of heart failure than women. But in actual numbers, more women have heart failure because many more women live into their seventies and eighties, when heart failure is common.
Children with congenital heart defects can also have heart failure. Congenital heart defects happen when the heart, heart valves, and/or blood vessels near the heart do not develop correctly in babies when they are in the womb. This can weaken the heart muscle and lead to heart failure. Children do not have the same symptoms or get the same treatment for heart failure as adults. Children’s heart failure will not be discussed here.
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