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Heart failure, sometimes known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a serious condition in which the heart is not pumping efficiently. It is a chronic condition that is the result of other cardiac conditions.
In the late stages of heart failure, the heart is unable to meet the body’s demand for oxygen. In addition, it may cause congestion in the lungs or other problems throughout the body. As a result of the lack of oxygen-rich blood flowing to the body, the heart tries to work harder, which only makes the problem worse.
Conditions that could lead to heart failure include:
- Coronary artery disease
- High blood pressure (hypertension)
- Heart attack
- Diabetes
- Cardiomyopathy
- Heart valve disease (e.g., valvular stenosis or valvular regurgitation)
- Infection in the heart valves (valvular endocarditis) or of the heart muscle (myocarditis)
- Congenital heart disease (cardiac conditions present since birth)
- Severe lung disease (e.g., pulmonary hypertension) or obstructive sleep apnea
- Pericardial disease (pericarditis)
According to current statistics from the American Heart Association, there are about 5 million heart failure patients in the United States, and 550,000 new cases of heart failure diagnosed in the  United States every year. This includes 10 out of every 1,000 people over the age of 65. Of newly diagnosed patients under the age of 65, about 80 percent of the men and 70 percent of the women will die within eight years. In people diagnosed with heart failure, sudden cardiac death occurs at six to nine times the rate of the general population.
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