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disease information

Heart Failure

Long Term Effects and Complications

Heart failure is a chronic disease, which means it is a long term, permanent disease that usually gets worse over time.7 Although heart failure can be life-threatening, the long term outlook varies greatly depending on your age, the severity of the symptoms, and your overall health. In general, the more severe your case of heart failure, the worse your symptoms will be, and the shorter your estimated lifespan.5

In many cases, heart failure symptoms remain steady for months or years before becoming worse. In recent years, the long term outlook for people with heart failure has improved dramatically thanks to advances in knowledge about the disease, as well as improvements in the medicines used to treat it.1

If heart failure becomes progressively worse, your heart’s inability to pump blood efficiently around the body may eventually interfere with your every day life, and you may progress to the point where you’re unable to care for yourself. In these cases you will require outside help or you may need to be admitted to hospital.3 If it is left untreated, heart failure can become extremely serious and can be potentially fatal.3

By the time someone is first officially diagnosed with heart failure the heart has probably already lost its ability to pump blood efficiently. Before symptoms are felt or noticed, the heart has usually been compensating for its lost capacity by:

  • Enlarging: This stretches the heart chamber open in order to contract more strongly and pump more blood
  • Developing more muscle mass: The cells that cause the contractions get bigger, allowing the heart to pump more strongly in the short term
  • Pumping faster: This allows the heart to increase the amount of blood being pumped around the body7

When someone has heart failure the rest of the body may compensate by:

  • Narrowing the blood vessels: This raises blood pressure to make up for the loss of power from the heart
  • Diverting blood: The body diverts blood from less important parts of the body, such as the hands and feet, so that it flows mostly to the vital organs including the heart and brain

Although these measures help with circulation initially, they don’t solve the underlying problem. Because of this, many people may not be aware that they have heart failure until years later when the condition has progressed to a point where symptoms are noticeable.7

Heart failure can also cause depression and anxiety as a result of dealing with the psychological aspects of a chronic condition. A breakdown in family relationships and a loss of the ability to generate income as a result of not being able to work can also add to this anxiety or depression.3

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Last Updated 12/06/2009 12:27:27
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