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Heart Disease: What is Heart Failure?At a very basic level, heart failure means the heart is unable to pump blood as well as it should. Heart failure, even though it sounds bad, doesn't mean your heart has completely stopped working. Symptoms and treatments will vary, depending on the type of heart failure you have.Risk factors include:
Right-sided Heart FailureRight-sided heart failure is a condition in which the right side of the heart loses its ability to pump blood efficiently. Right-sided heart failure occurs in about one in 20 people.The right ventricle loses its pumping function and blood may back up into other areas of the body, which produces congestion. This congestion affects the gastrointestinal tract, the limbs, and the liver. Additionally, the right ventricle may be unable to efficiently pump blood through the lungs to the left ventricle. Symptoms
Left-sided Heart FailureLeft-sided heart failure is a life-threatening condition in which the left side of the heart cannot pump enough blood to the body. The left side of the heart receives blood rich in oxygen from the lungs and pumps it to the remainder of the body. As the ability to pump this blood is decreased, the body does not receive enough oxygen.This condition becomes more prevalent with age and occurs in approximately one to three of every 100 people. According to the American Heart Association if the left ventricle loses its ability to contract normally (called systolic failure), the heart can't pump with enough force to push enough blood into circulation. If the ventricle loses its ability to relax normally (diastolic failure) because the muscle has become stiff, the heart can't properly fill with blood during the resting period between each beat. Symptoms
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