Congestive heart failure, or heart failure, is a condition in which the heart can't pump enough blood to meet the needs of the body's other organs. This can result from narrowed arteries that supply blood to the heart muscle (coronary artery disease); past heart attack (myocardial infarction) with scar tissue that interferes with the heart muscle's normal work; high blood pressure; heart valve disease due to past rheumatic fever or other causes;primary disease of the heart muscle itself, called cardiomyopathy; defects in the heart present at birth (congenital heart disease) as well as infection of the heart valves and/or heart muscle itself (endocarditis and/or myocarditis).

The "failing" heart keeps working but doesn't work as efficiently as it should. People with heart failure can't exert themselves because they become short of breath and tired. As blood flow out of the heart slows, blood returning to the heart through the veins backs up, causing congestion in the tissues. Often swelling (edema) results, most commonly in the legs and ankles. Sometimes fluid collects in the lungs and interferes with breathing, causing shortness of breath, especially when a person is lying down. Heart failure also affects the ability of the kidneys to dispose of sodium and water, increasing the edema.

Therapies such as rest, low salt diet and medications such as digitalis, diuretics (water pills), ace inhibitors and calcium channel blockers may be prescribed by physicians to help rid the body of excess fluid and enable the heart to pump more effectively.

See American Heart Association for more information on Congestive Heart Failure (CHF).