Causes and Risks for Heart Failure
Who develops heart failure (HF) and why? Heart failure is a serious, long-term (chronic) condition. It’s more likely to happen as you age, but anyone can develop heart failure. Still, if you have heart failure, you can live a full and active life with the right medical treatment and lifestyle. Understand the causes and conditions leading to HF Most people who develop heart failure have (or had) another heart condition first. The most common
Heart Failure in Children and Adolescents
A small percentage of newborns has a structural heart problem The heart is a pump. It’s divided into a right and left side, each with an upper and lower section. The upper section, called an atrium, receives blood from the body and pumps it through a one-way valve into the lower section, called a ventricle. These valves prevent the backward flow of blood inside the heart. The right side of the
Classes of Heart Failure
Doctors usually classify patients' heart failure according to the severity of their symptoms. The table below describes the most commonly used classification system, the New York Heart Association (NYHA) Functional Classification1. It places patients in one of four categories based on how much they are limited during physical activity. ClassPatient SymptomsINo limitation of physical activity. Ordinary physical activity does not cause undue fatigue, palpitation, dyspnea (shortness of breath).IISlight limitation of physical
Types of Heart Failure
Left-sided heart failure The heart's pumping action moves oxygen-rich blood from the lungs to the left atrium, then on to the left ventricle, which pumps the blood to the rest of the body. The left ventricle supplies most of the heart's pumping power, so it's larger than the other chambers and essential for normal function. In left-sided or left ventricular heart failure, the left side must work harder to pump the same
What is Heart Failure?
You don't have to face it alone The term heart failure sounds like the heart is no longer working at all. Actually, heart failure, sometimes called HF, means that the heart isn’t pumping as well as it should. Congestive heart failure is a type of heart failure that requires timely medical attention, although sometimes the two terms are used interchangeably. Your body depends on the heart’s pumping action to deliver oxygen- and nutrient-rich blood