Definitions and descriptions

Heart failure is ‘a complex clinical syndrome of symptoms and signs that suggest impairment. It is caused by structural or functional abnormalities of the heart’ and is characterised by two main features: reduced blood flow and fluid congestion (Heart Failure Society of America, 2002). The most common cause of heart failure is coronary artery disease (Figure 29.1).

Heart failure is classified by the European Society of Cardiologists as new onset, transient or chronic. A functional classification was developed by the New York Heart Association (NYHA) ‘to grade the severity of symptoms experienced by people with heart failure and supports monitoring of its progression and prognostication’.