Heart Failure is a condition that occurs when the heart is unable to pump enough blood to meet the body's needs. This makes the heart work harder, which eventually leads to the symptoms of heart failure. Approximately five million Americans have heart failure. Every year there are 550,000 new cases of heart failure and approximately one million hospitalizations.

A normal healthy heart can pump enough blood to the body to meet even strenuous demands. The circulating blood carries oxygen and nutrients to the tissues and removes waste products. A weakened heart has difficulty performing this task which causes fluid to back up in the lungs and other parts of the body such as the feet, ankles, legs, hands, and abdomen.

The more damaged your heart muscle, the more severe your heart failure will be, as will the amount, frequency, and severity of your symptoms. You may only experience symptoms such as shortness of breath with strenuous exercise if your heart failure is mild. Likewise, with severe heart failure you may be extremely short of breath and weak with minor activities.

Doctors gauge a heart’s function by how efficiently it pumps blood. Normally the heart pumps 60-70% of the blood it contains during each heartbeat. This percentage is called the ejection fraction (EF). When the muscle is weak or damaged the EF falls. Doctors consider the function to be severely reduced when the EF falls to 20% or below. In order to pump more blood the heart swells in size and the heart rate (pulse) is faster.

Common Causes of Heart Failure

• Coronary Artery Disease – narrowed arteries that supply blood to the heart muscle. Usually the muscle has been damaged in a past “heart attack” when the blood supply was cut off for a sufficient amount of time causing a portion of the muscle to die. Once dead, heart muscle will not come back and help squeeze.
• Cardiomyopathy – heart muscle disorder. The muscle cells of the heart are diseased due to many possible causes. Infections, usually viruses, toxins including drugs and alcohol, or other diseases are possible causes, but often the exact cause is never established.
• Hypertension - elevated blood pressure. The heart will often weaken and enlarge after years of pumping against a high-pressure system (the arteries).
• Heart Valve Disease – defects of the valves of the heart. The heart muscle may be damaged from blood backing up in the chambers due to the valves not opening and closing properly. The valves may be damaged from birth defects or from infections.

Common Risk Factors for Heart Disease

• Smoking
• Obesity (over weight)
• Lack of regular exercise
• High cholesterol
• Hypertension (high blood pressure)
• Stress
• Diabetes
• Use of alcohol and illegal drugs
• Family history of heart disease

Symptoms of Heart Failure

• Shortness of breath during exercise, rest, or sleep
• Fluid retention in the ankles or abdomen
• Increased urination at night
• Stomach pain or nausea
• Loss of appetite or bloating
• Confusion, depression, anxiety or panic
• Chest pain
• Fatigue
• Weakness
• Heart palpations
• Weight gain or loss
• Leg pain or fatigue with walking