Congestive Heart Failure

  • 15 years ago
Congestive Heart Failure

Congestive heart failure (CHF), or heart failure, is a condition in which the heart can't pump enough blood to the body's other organs. This can result from
narrowed arteries that supply blood to the heart muscle — coronary artery disease
past heart attack, or myocardial infarction, with scar tissue that interferes with the heart muscle's normal work
high blood pressure
heart valve disease due to past rheumatic fever or other causes
primary disease of the heart muscle itself, called cardiomyopathy.
heart defects present at birth — congenital heart defects.
infection of the heart valves and/or heart muscle itself — endocarditis and/or myocarditis
The "failing" heart keeps working but not as efficiently as it should. People with heart failure can't exert themselves because they become short of breath and tired.