#Heart failure is a chronic, #progressive condition in which the heart muscle is unable to pump enough #blood to meet the body’s needs for blood and oxygen. Basically, the heart can’t keep up with its #workload.

At first the heart tries to make up for this by:

• Enlarging. The #heart stretches to contract more strongly and keep up with the #demand to pump more blood. Over time this causes the heart to become enlarged.
• Developing more muscle mass. The increase in muscle mass occurs because the contracting cells of the #heart get bigger. This lets the heart pump more strongly, at least initially.
• Pumping faster. This helps increase the #heart’s output.

The body also tries to compensate in other ways:

• The #blood vessels narrow to keep #blood pressure up, trying to make up for the #heart’s loss of power.
• The body diverts blood away from less important #tissues and #organs (like the kidneys), the #heart and #brain.

These temporary measures mask the problem of #heart failure, but they don’t solve it. #Heart failure continues and worsens until these compensating processes no longer work.

Eventually the heart and body just can’t keep up, and the person experiences the fatigue, #breathing problems or other symptoms that usually #prompt a trip to the doctor.

The body’s compensation mechanisms help explain why some people may not become aware of their condition until years after their heart begins its decline. (It's also a good reason to have a regular checkup with your doctor.)

#Heart failure can involve the #heart’s left side, right side or both sides. However, it usually affects the left side first.