What is Heart Failure?

Heart failure is a leading cause of death in the developed world, estimated to impact over 20 million people worldwide.  In the United States, nearly 5 million patients suffer from heart failure.  Each year 550,000 new cases are diagnosed and some 300,000 patients die as a result of the condition.

Heart failure results from the progressive deterioration of the pumping function of the heart, leading to its inability to meet the metabolic demands of the body. The majority of heart failure patients have underlying cardiovascular disorders that are often the precursors to their condition. The most common of these are atherosclerosis, myocardial infarction, hypertension, cardiomyopathy and arrhythmia.

In a healthy person, the left ventricle of the heart pumps oxygenated blood into the aorta. The blood is circulated through the body until it returns through the venous system to the right side of the heart. The blood is then pumped into the lungs where it is re-oxygenated.

If the left ventricle is not working properly, the oxygenated blood is not fully cleared from the lungs and the blood is not circulated effectively. In order to compensate, the left ventricular muscle tends to work harder in an effort to supply adequate blood flow. Unfortunately, the result is not increased flow but rather dilation of the ventricle because of the increased effort. This dilation then makes it harder for the heart to contract effectively which results in even lower flow, increased effort and further dilation of the ventricle. This degenerative process continues until the patient becomes debilitated and eventually may die from inadequate clearing of the lungs and inadequate flow of oxygenated blood to the organs. The inadequate lung clearance or congestion is why the advanced stages of heart failure are called Congestive Heart Failure or "CHF".

The symptoms of heart failure can often be treated by pharmaceuticals or pacemaker technology but the underlying process is largely irreversible.