Heart Failure Overview Quiz

A condition where the heart cannot pump enough blood to meet the body's needs.

Often a combination of weakened heart contractions and relaxation, impacting blood flow. It can stem from various conditions like coronary heart disease, myocardial infarction, and cardiomyopathy.

Body's initial response to reduced blood flow (CO) trying to restore it. These lead to fluid buildup.

Heart failure resulting from the body's compensatory mechanisms causing fluid buildup in the vessels.

HF gets worse over time as the heart muscle weakens further, leading to increased health risks.

Conditions affecting myocardial function and cardiac workload, or acute non-cardiac factors, like volume overload or infection, can lead to heart failure.

Problems with the heart muscle's ability to pump blood effectively.

Conditions that make the heart work harder to pump blood, such as high blood pressure or valve problems.

The amount of blood pumped by the heart in one minute.

The heart's ability to increase its pumping action when tissue oxygen demand goes up.

Fluid buildup in lung tissue, a common heart failure complication.

Fluid buildup in lungs due to severely decompensated heart.

Amount of blood ejected per contraction of the heart's ventricles.

Rapid heart rate (tachycardia) shortens the time for the ventricles to fill with blood, which decreases stroke volume (SV) and ultimately reduces cardiac output (CO).

Slow heart rate (bradycardia) can also reduce cardiac output (CO) because it decreases the volume of blood pumped out per minute.

Stroke volume (SV) depends on preload, afterload, and myocardial contractility.

A normal ejection fraction (EF) is between 50% and 70%.

When the heart fails, cardiac output (CO) and ejection fraction (EF) both decrease.