Basic Facts

  • Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) occurs when the heart is not able to pump normally, which leads to a backup of fluid in the body. Commonly, this causes a buildup of blood in the lungs called "pulmonary congestion".
  • CHF can occur for different reasons, including weakening of the heart muscle, stiffening of heart muscle, and/or dysfunction of the valves in the heart.
  • Although most forms of congestive heart failure are life-long, the goal of treatment is to decrease the likelihood of disease progression, to lessen symptoms and to improve quality of life.
Heart Failure