Information about Heart Failure Care

Heart failure is a weakening of the heart’s pumping power. With heart failure, your body doesn’t get enough oxygen and nutrients to meet its needs. Your heart tries to pump more blood, but the muscle walls become weaker over time.

Symptoms of heart failure may include

• shortness of breath from fluid in the lungs
• swelling (such as in legs, ankles or abdomen)
• dizziness
• fatigue
• weakness
• cold or clammy skin
• a rapid or irregular heartbeat.

Heart failure can be a result of heart condition due to

• hardening of the arteries, also known as coronary artery disease,
• a heart attack,
• cardiomyopathy (heart muscle damage from infection or alcohol or drug abuse), or
• an overworked heart (caused over time by conditions like high blood pressure, kidney disease, diabetes, or a defect from birth).

For more information about heart health, check http://www.americanheart.org, American Heart Association's website, or www.medlineplus.gov for health information from the National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health.

Page Last Updated: April 20, 2009