|
You get heart failure after your heart is damaged. This can happen from disease or injury. It doesn’t happen overnight. The problems that lead to heart failure usually take time. These include:
Hardening of the arteries
Fatty deposits (called plaques) build up inside the arteries around the heart. This causes the arteries to narrow. Not enough blood reaches the heart. This reduces the oxygen to the heart and harms the heart.
Heart attack
Sometimes a plaque can block an artery to the heart. This can stop blood flow to the heart muscle. This can cause a heart attack. Scar tissue forms over the part of the heart muscle that doesn’t get blood. This makes the heart less able to pump well.
High blood pressure
If you have high blood pressure, your heart has to work harder to pump blood through your body. Over time, this extra work can lead to heart failure.
Heart valve damage
Valves help control the flow of blood through the heart. They work like faucets on a sink. Sometimes the valves leak or can’t open all the way. This means that the heart can’t move blood through the body as well. Heart valves can be damaged:
- At birth
- By disease
- By some infections
- By other conditions
Heart muscle damage
The heart muscle can be damaged by:
- Some viruses
- Some cancer drugs
- Alcohol or cocaine use
- Cigarette smoking
- Injury to the heart
- Other causes
Also of Interest
|
