Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsPathophysiologyCausesTypesStagesSymptomsAssociated ConditionsFrequently Asked Questions
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Pathophysiology
Causes
Types
Stages
Symptoms
Associated Conditions
Frequently Asked Questions
Congestive heart failure(CHF), also simply called heart failure, is a chronic condition in which the heart progressively becomes less efficient at pumping blood around the body. Heart failure impacts about 6.5 million people in the United States, and it’s one of the most common reasons older adults get admitted to the hospital.
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What Is Pathophysiology?
Pathophysiology is the study of functional changes that happen with a particular disease or condition. This includes the causes of a disease, the consequences of changes that happen due to the disease, and how it affects other diseases the person has at the same time (concomitant, or associated, conditions).
What Is the Pathophysiology of Heart Failure?
Heart failure develops when there are changes to the structure of the heart muscle and it can’t pump blood as efficiently as it should. When this happens blood can back up and fluid may build up in the lungs or arms and legs, indicating congestive heart failure.
What Is Ejection Fraction?
Theejection fraction(EF) is a measurement your healthcare providers will use to determine the type of heart failure and to assess the stage of heart disease.
The ejection fraction represents the percentage of blood pumped out of the left ventricle when the heart contracts. When blood leaves the left ventricle, it moves into the aorta to deliver blood loaded with oxygen to the rest of the body.
In a healthy heart, the ejection fraction ranges from around 52%–74%. When the ejection fraction drops below 52%, it’s considered low.Your healthcare professional may use your ejection fraction to determine the severity of heart failure.
What Causes Congestive Heart Failure?
CHF usually develops after conditions weaken the heart muscles. Examples of conditions and risk factors for developing heart failure include:
Types of Heart Failure
The two types of heart failure include:
Another type of heart failure calledright-sided heart failurecan develop. However, it’s a more uncommon condition with different causes and symptoms.
BMI is a dated, flawed measure. It does not take into account factors such asbody composition, ethnicity, sex, race, and age. Even though it is a biased measure, BMI is still widely used in the medical community because it’s an inexpensive and quick way to analyze a person’s potential health status and outcomes.
Stages of Heart Failure
CHF is usually an irreversible condition that gets worse over time. The stages of heart failure describe the severity of the conditions. Here are thefour stages of heart failureaccording to the American College of Cardiology:
Symptoms and Consequences of Heart Failure
Signs and symptoms of heart failure may include:
As heart failure progresses, you may notice it becoming more and more challenging to exercise and complete your normal daily tasks. Even walking across your home may become difficult because of problems moving oxygen through the body.
Concomitant Conditions
Other conditions that often develop alongside heart failure include:
Summary
Heart failure develops when there is injury to the heart muscle, and it can’t contract effectively to move blood around the body. The damage to the heart may be due to coronary artery disease, high blood pressure, smoking, alcohol, diabetes, infection, or other conditions.
As the heart becomes progressively weaker, a variety of symptoms are seen, including shortness of breath, weakness, fatigue, and edema. Other conditions that commonly occur along with heart failure include diabetes, COPD, sleep apnea, and kidney disease.
A Word From Verywell
Heart failure may be a chronic condition, and it can impact your life in many ways. Still, with an effective treatment plan, you can slow the progression of the disease.
If you find it challenging to manage this condition on your own, consider joining a support group to connect with other people living with heart failure. Ask your healthcare professional for a referral or connect through organizations like the American Heart Association.
Frequently Asked QuestionsCommon causes of heart failure include coronary artery disease, high blood pressure, smoking, alcohol abuse, diabetes, and infection.The four stages of heart failure include:Stage A: High risk for heart failure, but without active disease or symptomsStage B: Structural disease, but still without symptomsStage C: Worsening heart function and occasional symptomsStage D: Severe symptoms and poor heart functionDiabetes, COPD, sleep apnea, and kidney disease are the most common conditions that occur alongside heart failure.
Common causes of heart failure include coronary artery disease, high blood pressure, smoking, alcohol abuse, diabetes, and infection.
The four stages of heart failure include:Stage A: High risk for heart failure, but without active disease or symptomsStage B: Structural disease, but still without symptomsStage C: Worsening heart function and occasional symptomsStage D: Severe symptoms and poor heart function
The four stages of heart failure include:
Diabetes, COPD, sleep apnea, and kidney disease are the most common conditions that occur alongside heart failure.
6 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Lee MP, Glynn RJ, Schneeweiss S, et al.Risk factors for heart failure with preserved or reduced ejection fraction among medicare beneficiaries: application of competing risks analysis and gradient boosted model.Clin Epidemiol. 2020;12:607-616. doi:10.2147/CLEP.S253612Kosaraju A, Goyal A, Grigorova Y, Makaryus AN.Left ventricular ejection fraction. In: StatPearls. StatPearls Publishing; 2021.Malik A, Brito D, Chhabra L.Congestive heart failure. In: StatPearls. StatPearls Publishing; 2021.Heidenreich P, Bozkurt B, Aguilar D, et al.2022 AHA/ACC/HFSA guideline for the management of heart failure.J Am Coll Cardiol. 2022;79(17):e263–e421. doi:10.1016/j.jacc.2021.12.012Murphy SP, Ibrahim NE, Januzzi JL.Heart failure with reduced ejection fraction: a review.JAMA. 2020;324(5):488-504. doi:10.1001/jama.2020.10262American Heart Association.Warning signs of heart failure.
6 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Lee MP, Glynn RJ, Schneeweiss S, et al.Risk factors for heart failure with preserved or reduced ejection fraction among medicare beneficiaries: application of competing risks analysis and gradient boosted model.Clin Epidemiol. 2020;12:607-616. doi:10.2147/CLEP.S253612Kosaraju A, Goyal A, Grigorova Y, Makaryus AN.Left ventricular ejection fraction. In: StatPearls. StatPearls Publishing; 2021.Malik A, Brito D, Chhabra L.Congestive heart failure. In: StatPearls. StatPearls Publishing; 2021.Heidenreich P, Bozkurt B, Aguilar D, et al.2022 AHA/ACC/HFSA guideline for the management of heart failure.J Am Coll Cardiol. 2022;79(17):e263–e421. doi:10.1016/j.jacc.2021.12.012Murphy SP, Ibrahim NE, Januzzi JL.Heart failure with reduced ejection fraction: a review.JAMA. 2020;324(5):488-504. doi:10.1001/jama.2020.10262American Heart Association.Warning signs of heart failure.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Lee MP, Glynn RJ, Schneeweiss S, et al.Risk factors for heart failure with preserved or reduced ejection fraction among medicare beneficiaries: application of competing risks analysis and gradient boosted model.Clin Epidemiol. 2020;12:607-616. doi:10.2147/CLEP.S253612Kosaraju A, Goyal A, Grigorova Y, Makaryus AN.Left ventricular ejection fraction. In: StatPearls. StatPearls Publishing; 2021.Malik A, Brito D, Chhabra L.Congestive heart failure. In: StatPearls. StatPearls Publishing; 2021.Heidenreich P, Bozkurt B, Aguilar D, et al.2022 AHA/ACC/HFSA guideline for the management of heart failure.J Am Coll Cardiol. 2022;79(17):e263–e421. doi:10.1016/j.jacc.2021.12.012Murphy SP, Ibrahim NE, Januzzi JL.Heart failure with reduced ejection fraction: a review.JAMA. 2020;324(5):488-504. doi:10.1001/jama.2020.10262American Heart Association.Warning signs of heart failure.
Lee MP, Glynn RJ, Schneeweiss S, et al.Risk factors for heart failure with preserved or reduced ejection fraction among medicare beneficiaries: application of competing risks analysis and gradient boosted model.Clin Epidemiol. 2020;12:607-616. doi:10.2147/CLEP.S253612
Kosaraju A, Goyal A, Grigorova Y, Makaryus AN.Left ventricular ejection fraction. In: StatPearls. StatPearls Publishing; 2021.
Malik A, Brito D, Chhabra L.Congestive heart failure. In: StatPearls. StatPearls Publishing; 2021.
Heidenreich P, Bozkurt B, Aguilar D, et al.2022 AHA/ACC/HFSA guideline for the management of heart failure.J Am Coll Cardiol. 2022;79(17):e263–e421. doi:10.1016/j.jacc.2021.12.012
Murphy SP, Ibrahim NE, Januzzi JL.Heart failure with reduced ejection fraction: a review.JAMA. 2020;324(5):488-504. doi:10.1001/jama.2020.10262
American Heart Association.Warning signs of heart failure.
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