What is Heart Failure?
The heart is an amazing pump made of living
muscle. It circulates blood that carries oxygen
and nutrients to all of the tissues in your body
24 hours per day, 365 days per year, throughout
your lifetime.
The normal heart is able to regulate the amount
of blood circulated based on the needs of the
tissues. As you exercise, your heart beats faster
and squeezes harder to increase the amount of
blood delivered for increased needs. The heart
regulates itself by receiving input from the
nervous system and chemical signals from other
tissues in the body.
All of the organs in the body are dependent
upon receiving enough blood from the heart. When
the heart can't meet the needs of the organs,
most people develop symptoms that doctors refer
to as "heart failure."
The normal heart is about the size of a clenched
fist and is located in the left side of the chest.
The muscle of the heart is normally strong enough
to pump an ample supply of blood to all of the
tissues of the body. Congestive heart failure,
or heart failure, is a condition in which the
heart is unable to pump adequate blood to meet
the needs of the organs of the body. As a result,
fluid may collect in the legs, arms or abdomen,
and you may feel tired or short of breath.
Who Gets Heart Failure?
Heart failure can occur in anyone from children
to older adults. In the United States, the most
common cause of heart failure is weakening of
the heart muscle due to coronary
artery disease. People who are at risk for
coronary artery disease and heart attacks are
also at risk for heart failure.
Young, otherwise healthy people also can develop
heart failure due to rare causes, such as a viral
infection of the heart muscle, problems with
heart valves or exposure to poisons, such as
alcohol.
Reviewed by: Lee
R. Goldberg, MD, MPH
Last updated: November 2005
|
