Structural impairment of heart 2. Functional impairment of heart 3. Decreased ventricular filling of blood 4. Decreased ventricular ejection of blood
The definition of heart failure is a clinical syndrome that results from any structural or functional impairment of ventricular filling or ejection of blood. Basically, the heart is unable to deliver enough blood to oxygenate the circulation. This could be due to a structural impairment, such as left ventricular hypertrophy, or simply a functional impairment. The heart may not be filling appropriately due to elevated resistance, or it may not be ejecting blood properly due to an inability to properly contract. Knowing what is wrong, the pathophysiology, permits you to predict which therapies will be of benefit.