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Complications
By Mayo Clinic staffIf you have heart failure, your outlook depends on the cause and the severity, your overall health, and other factors such as your age. Complications can include:
- Kidney damage or failure. Heart failure can reduce the blood flow to your kidneys, which can eventually cause kidney failure if left untreated. Kidney damage from heart failure can require dialysis for treatment.
- Heart valve problems. The valves of your heart, which keep blood flowing in the proper direction through your heart, can become damaged from the blood and fluid buildup from heart failure.
- Liver damage. Heart failure can lead to a buildup of fluid that puts too much pressure on the liver. This fluid backup can lead to scarring, which makes it more difficult for your liver to function properly.
- Heart attack and stroke. Because blood flow through the heart is slower in heart failure than in a normal heart, it's more likely you'll develop blood clots, which can increase your risk of having a heart attack or stroke.
Some people's symptoms and heart function will improve with proper treatment. However, heart failure can be life-threatening. It can lead to sudden death. People with heart failure may have severe symptoms, and some may require heart transplantation or support with an artificial heart device.
- Heart failure. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/Hf/HF_All.html. Accessed Nov. 10, 2009.
- What is heart failure? American Heart Association. http://www.americanheart.org/print_presenter.jhtml?identifier=337. Accessed Nov. 10, 2009.
- Jessup M, et al. 2009 Focused update: ACCF/AHA guidelines for the diagnosis and management of heart failure in adults. Circulation. 2009;119:1977.
- Riegel B, et al. State of the science: Promoting self-care in persons with heart failure: A scientific statement from the American Heart Association. Circulation. 2009;120:1141.
- Schocken DD, et al. Prevention of heart failure: A scientific statement from the American Heart Association. Circulation. 2008;117:2544.
- Gheorghiade M, et al. Acute heart failure syndromes. Journal of the American College of Cardiology. 2009;53:557.
- Flaherty JD, et al. Acute heart failure syndromes in patients with coronary artery disease: Early assessment and treatment. Journal of the American College of Cardiology. 2009;53:254.
- Left ventricular assist device. American Heart Association. http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4599. Accessed Nov. 10, 2009.
- Slaughter MS, et al. Advanced heart failure treated with continuous-flow left ventricular assist device. NEJM. 2009;361:1.
- Pina IL, et al. Exercise and heart failure: A statement from the American Heart Association Committee on Exercise, Rehabilitation, and Prevention. Circulation. 2003;107:1210.
- Cutting down on salt and sodium for people with heart failure. American Heart Association. http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=336. Accessed Nov. 10, 2009.
- Naughton MT, et al. Sleep in heart failure. Progress in Cardiovascular Diseases. 2009;51:339.
