Chronic Heart Failure

Chronic heart failure is one of two basic kinds of congestive heart failure. It is differentiated from acute heart failure.

Congestive heart failure, which is commonly known among medical professionals as CHF, or simply as heart failure, is a condition in which your heart function is compromised. Due to weakness or long term damage, your heart is unable to pump enough blood to the body's other organs. Since blood is not passing through the tissues and organs rapidly enough, the condition is described as "congestive." 

Even though the heart keeps working, it's not performing as efficiently as it should. It can't deliver oxygen to the cells and tissues that they need. When you have chronic heart failure, you can't exert yourself because you get tired and short of breath quickly.

Acute heart failure, on the other hand, is a critical stage often reached by individuals with chronic heart disease. During acute heart failure, the lungs fill with fluid, which means the individual won't be able to get enough oxygen. As the heart gets less oxygen, the lungs fill with more liquid, and the cycle becomes critical quickly.

Those with acute heart failure usually experience severe shortness of breath and rapid fatigue as a major symptoms.

Chronic heart failure does not usually present such an immediate emergency. It occurs over a period of time when

• coronary arteries become narrowed or obstructed (coronary artery disease)
• high blood pressure over an extended period wears down the strength of the heart. High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, forces the heart to work harder to push blood through the body. The increased workload eventually takes a toll.
• you have a congenital heart problem
• you have a heart valve problem as a result of rheumatic fever at some time in the past.
• you have primary disease of the heart muscle itself, called cardiomyopathy.
• you have endocarditis and/or myocarditis are present. These conditions involve infection of the heart valves and/or heart muscle itself.
• you have scar tissue in the heart due to a heart attack in the past.

Chronic heart failure poses a danger to other organs too, especially the kidneys. When you have chronic heart failure, you're likely to have kidney problems because your kidneys can't dispose of sodium and water fast enough. You tend to "retain fluids," which causes a condition called edema.

For more information how chronic heart failure is diagnosed, click on heart failure symptoms.

If you have mild and moderate congestive heart failure, there are treatment options. Click on heart failure treatment to learn more.