Chronic Heart Failure (CHF) is a condition in which a problem with the structure or function of the heart impairs its ability to supply sufficient blood flow to meet the body’s needs.
Common Causes of heart failure include myocardial infarction and other forms of ischemic heart disease, hypertension, valvular heart disease and cardiomyopathy. Heart failure can cause a large variety of symptoms such as shortness of breath (typically worse when lying flat, which is called orthopnea), coughing, and swelling and reduced exercise capacity. Heart failure is often undiagnosed due to a lack of universally agreed definition and challenges in definitive diagnosis. Treatment commonly consists of lifestyle measures (such as decreased salt intake) and medications, and sometimes devices or even surgery.
