Heart failure is described by the American Heart Association as a "complex clinical syndrome that can result from any structural or functional cardiac disorder that impairs the ability of the ventricle to fill or eject blood." Nearly 6 million U.S citizens have heart failure, and almost 700,000 are diagnosed with it every year, which is a significant rise from previous decades, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Impact
The size of the public health problem and cost of heart failure to society is enormous. Heart failure is the most frequent reason for hospitalization of people older than 65 years of age. The rapidly increasing size of the heart failure epidemic is demonstrated by the rise in hospitalizations in which heart failure were recorded as a contributing factor. The number rose from 1.26 million in 1979 to 3.9 million in 2004, according to research carried out by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2008.
Causes
The dramatic rise in heart failure might be caused by increased longevity or lifestyle factors, or a combination of the two, according to research carried out by the Mayo Clinic in 2010.
Coronary Artery Disease
The accumulation of fatty deposits in arteries that supply the heart with blood narrows these vessels, depriving the heart of oxygenated blood. This process occurs in coronary artery disease, the leading cause of heart failure and death of Americans older than 20 years of age, according to the American Heart Association.
Smoking
Quitting smoking, and avoiding passive smoke is the first change people can make to reduce the risk of coronary artery disease, and subsequent heart failure. Smokers who have coronary artery disease have a 43 percent higher chance of dying from a heart attack than those who give up, according to research published in Archives of Internal Medicine in 2003.
Diet
Eating a healthful diet reduces the progression of coronary artery disease and heart failure. A suitable diet is high in the type of fiber commonly found in a variety of fruit and vegetables, low in saturated fat and cholesterol, commonly found in red meats, and low in salt and sugar, according to the British Heart Foundation.
Exercise
Exercising 30 minutes four to five times per week has been shown to dramatically reduce the risk of heart attack in patients with and without heart failure due to coronary artery disease, according to the American Heart Association.
