Heart Failure

Pictures of a normal heart and an enlarged (dilated) heart: cross section

Heart failure occurs when the heart muscle does not pump as much blood as the body needs. Failure does not mean that the heart has stopped pumping but rather that it is failing to pump as effectively as it should.

The body tries to compensate for the heart's reduced pumping ability by:

Holding on to (retaining) salt and water to increase the amount of blood in the bloodstream.
Increasing the heart rate.
Increasing the size of the heart.

Credits

By	Healthwise Staff
Primary Medical Reviewer	Rakesh K. Pai, MD, FACC - Cardiology, Electrophysiology
Specialist Medical Reviewer	Stephen Fort, MD, MRCP, FRCPC - Interventional Cardiology
Last Revised	April 26, 2012

By:

Healthwise Staff

Last Revised: April 26, 2012

Medical Review:

Rakesh K. Pai, MD, FACC - Cardiology, Electrophysiology
Stephen Fort, MD, MRCP, FRCPC - Interventional Cardiology

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