Congestive heart failure (CHF) is a syndrome, not a disease, that can be brought about by several causes. CHF is a weakening of the heart brought on by an underlying heart or blood vessel problem, often a combination of several different problems, including the following :
- Weakened heart muscle
- Damaged heart valves
- Blocked blood vessels supplying the heart muscle (coronary arteries), leading to a heart attack
- Toxic exposures, like alcohol or cocaine
- Infections
- High blood pressure that results in thickening of the heart muscle (left ventricular hypertrophy)
- Pericardial disease, such as pericardial effusion (a large collection of fluid around the heart in the space between the heart muscle and the thick layer of pericardium surrounding the heart) and/or a thickened pericardium, which does not allow the heart to fill properly
- Congenital heart diseases
- Prolonged, serious arrhythmias
While these conditions often combine to produce CHF, sometimes the causes of diseased heart muscles are not known; this is called idiopathic cardiomyopathy or heart muscle disease of unknown cause.
CHF is often a result of the following lifestyle habits :
- Unhealthy habits, such as smoking and excessive use of alcohol, are often to blame.
- Obesity and lack of activity may contribute to CHF, either directly or indirectly through accompanying high blood pressure, diabetes, and coronary artery disease.
- Years of uncontrolled high blood pressure damages both heart and blood vessels.
Along with lifestyle risk factors, a number of diseases (for example, diabetes, heart attack [myocardial infarction], and congenital heart disease) can damage the heart and lead to congestive heart failure. Over a hundred other, less common, causes of CHF include a variety of infections, exposures, complications of other diseases, toxic effects, and genetic predisposition.
