Definition of the pathology

Heart failure is characterised by the heart's difficulty in pumping blood to the body, causing symptoms such as fatigue, coughing at night and swelling in the legs at the end of the day, as the oxygen in the blood cannot reach the organs and tissues. Depending on how the symptoms develop, heart failure can be classified as:

• Chronic heart failure, which develops over years as a result of high blood pressure, for example, and is the most common type of heart failure.
• Acute heart failure, which occurs suddenly due to a serious problem such as a heart attack, severe arrhythmia or bleeding, and must be treated immediately in hospital to avoid complications.
• Decompensated heart failure, which occurs in patients with chronic heart failure who do not manage their heart failure properly and require hospitalisation.
• Congestive heart failure, also known as CHF, is when fluid builds up in the lungs, legs and stomach because the heart has trouble pumping blood.