About Heart Failure

If you or someone you know has heart failure, also known as congestive heart failure, you are not alone. According to the American Heart Association, heart failure currently affects over five million Americans, with approximately 550,000 new cases diagnosed each year.*

Over time, conditions such as coronary artery disease or high blood pressure can leave the heart too weak to pump the blood the body needs to supply enough oxygen and nutrients to its tissues and organs.

The most easily detected heart failure symptoms are shortness of breath and fatigue. The best defense against heart failure is to limit your risk factors and to manage the underlying conditions that could lead to heart failure, such as coronary artery disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes or obesity.

Heart failure is a serious condition that has no specific cure, but with the right heart failure treatment program, early intervention and positive lifestyle changes, you or someone you know with heart failure can lead a normal, active life.

*American Heart Association Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics - 2006 Update