# Heart failure Condition · id `cardio:heart-failure` · Cardiovascular Atlas · release `f6f6f1b6f50379ed` (public) > General information from published sources, not medical advice, and not reviewed by clinicians. Check the cited source before relying on anything here. The atlas's own text and curation may be reused under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/): credit the atlas, and do not use it commercially. See the atlas About page. Text quoted from a source stays under that source's own terms, given as the source's reuse\_basis. The atlas's reuse terms do not cover it. The downloads list each quotation with its source in third\_party\_quotations. Also called: Congestive heart failure; Cardiac failure; CHF Browse, organ or system: Heart Browse, condition area: Heart failure ## In plain language Heart failure means the heart cannot pump enough blood to meet the body's needs. It does not mean the heart has stopped. It can come on suddenly or build up over time, and most often another condition has damaged the heart. NHLBI says it has no cure, but that treatment can extend life, keep people more active and ease symptoms. This page links to the two main types, which are sorted by how much blood the left ventricle pumps out with each beat, and to the tests, medicines, devices and trials in this atlas. ## Technical summary Parent page for the heart-failure types in this atlas: heart failure with reduced ejection fraction, and heart failure with mildly reduced or preserved ejection fraction. Definition, causes, diagnosis, treatment and self-care come from NHLBI heart failure pages last updated on 2022-03-24 and from a MedlinePlus health topic. The NHLBI treatment page, dated 2022, says the use of SGLT2 inhibitors in heart failure was still being studied; the four SGLT2 inhibitor trials are shown separately in this atlas. NHLBI and the trials use different ejection fraction cut-offs (see the ejection fraction page). The MeSH heading D006333 is an exact match. ## Claims, with the population each applies to ## Context: Adults with heart failure, as described by NHLBI (heart failure health topic) Recipient: Adult; Population: Adults. NHLBI says this health topic is about adult heart failure and that children can be affected too.; Care setting: Not applicable (a description of the condition and its care).; Geography: United States (the prevalence figure is for US adults; the page names no other country).; Life stage: Adults.; Follow-up: Not applicable. ### NHLBI says treatment for heart failure is usually lifelong, and that the condition often worsens over time even when it is treated. For care at home, it advises taking medicines as prescribed and reporting side effects, and being alert to rising weight, swollen ankles or worsening breathlessness, which can be signs that fluid is collecting. It advises asking the provider how often to weigh and when to report changes. - Category: Description - Evidence stage: Evidence stage unknown - Certainty: Certainty not assessed - Applies to: Recipient: Adult; Population: Adults. NHLBI says this health topic is about adult heart failure and that children can be affected too.; Care setting: Not applicable (a description of the condition and its care).; Geography: United States (the prevalence figure is for US adults; the page names no other country).; Life stage: Adults.; Follow-up: Not applicable. - Limitations: General patient information from a government health page that was last updated on March 24, 2022. It is not an individual care plan, and it states no numbers or thresholds for weight change. The page is cite only, so no wording is quoted here. - Last checked: 2026-10-14 - Sources: 1. Supports: NHLBI: Heart Failure: Living With Heart Failure (Webpage, edition NHLBI health topic page fetched 2026-10-14. The page says it was last updated on March 24, 2022.) Locator: Living With Heart Failure, opening paragraph. Retrieved 2026-10-14T18:20:44Z. Source state: Current. Snapshot hash: 651571275085363a83dc08dad88362ab1b6a2fbfa8ec038ded61f961a5fb8c0c. How it applies: Lifelong treatment plan, and that heart failure often worsens. NHLBI page last updated March 24, 2022 according to the page; cite only, so this atlas restates it in its own words. 2. Supports: NHLBI: Heart Failure: Living With Heart Failure (Webpage, edition NHLBI health topic page fetched 2026-10-14. The page says it was last updated on March 24, 2022.) Locator: Home care section, medicines. Retrieved 2026-10-14T18:20:44Z. Source state: Current. Snapshot hash: 651571275085363a83dc08dad88362ab1b6a2fbfa8ec038ded61f961a5fb8c0c. How it applies: Take medicines as prescribed and report side effects. NHLBI page last updated March 24, 2022 according to the page; cite only, so this atlas restates it in its own words. 3. Supports: NHLBI: Heart Failure: Living With Heart Failure (Webpage, edition NHLBI health topic page fetched 2026-10-14. The page says it was last updated on March 24, 2022.) Locator: Know when to seek help. Retrieved 2026-10-14T18:20:44Z. Source state: Current. Snapshot hash: 651571275085363a83dc08dad88362ab1b6a2fbfa8ec038ded61f961a5fb8c0c. How it applies: Warning signs of fluid build-up and weight checks. NHLBI page last updated March 24, 2022 according to the page; cite only, so this atlas restates it in its own words. ### The NHLBI heart failure page puts the number of US adults living with heart failure at over 6 million, a figure it credits to the CDC. - Category: Burden - Evidence stage: Evidence stage unknown - Certainty: Certainty not assessed - Applies to: Recipient: Adult; Population: Adults. NHLBI says this health topic is about adult heart failure and that children can be affected too.; Care setting: Not applicable (a description of the condition and its care).; Geography: United States (the prevalence figure is for US adults; the page names no other country).; Life stage: Adults.; Follow-up: Not applicable. - Limitations: A figure quoted on a government health page, not read at its CDC source (CDC pages return an error to scripts). The page gives no year for the figure or the method. The NHLBI page was last updated on March 24, 2022, so the count may be out of date. - Last checked: 2026-10-14 - Sources: 1. Supports: NHLBI: Heart Failure: What Is Heart Failure? (Webpage, edition NHLBI health topic page fetched 2026-10-14. The page says it was last updated on March 24, 2022.) Locator: What Is Heart Failure, paragraph 2. Retrieved 2026-10-14T18:20:42Z. Source state: Current. Snapshot hash: 4e59e74eba4d438ff7f30fa018e8b0a1804ed03c12023b22684a4b78ac146557. How it applies: The prevalence figure, which NHLBI attributes to the CDC. NHLBI page last updated March 24, 2022 according to the page; cite only, so this atlas restates it in its own words. 2. Background: NHLBI: Heart Failure: What Is Heart Failure? (Webpage, edition NHLBI health topic page fetched 2026-10-14. The page says it was last updated on March 24, 2022.) Locator: What Is Heart Failure, paragraph 2, last sentence. Retrieved 2026-10-14T18:20:42Z. Source state: Current. Snapshot hash: 4e59e74eba4d438ff7f30fa018e8b0a1804ed03c12023b22684a4b78ac146557. How it applies: The page focuses on adults. ## Connected pages - SPRINT counted acute decompensated heart failure as an outcome component: Acute decompensated heart failure (SPRINT component) (`cardio:outcome-sprint-acute-decompensated-heart-failure`) - NHLBI lists high blood pressure among the conditions that can damage the heart and lead to heart failure: Hypertension (high blood pressure) (`core:hypertension`) - Files under this front: Medicines (`cardio:front-medicines`) - Related to: Peripartum cardiomyopathy (`core:peripartum-cardiomyopathy`) - Related to: MedlinePlus (`core:medlineplus`) - Evaluated for this: BNP and NT-proBNP blood tests (`cardio:natriuretic-peptides`) [a claim, not a settled fact; see claim `cardio:claim-bnp-heart-failure-testing` and its context] - Related to: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) (`cardio:chronic-kidney-disease`) - Has subtype: Heart failure with mildly reduced or preserved ejection fraction (`cardio:hfpef`) - Has subtype: Heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) (`cardio:hfref`) - Related to: Mitral regurgitation (`cardio:mitral-regurgitation`) - Evaluated for this: SGLT2 inhibitors (drug class) (`cardio:sglt2-inhibitors`) [a claim, not a settled fact; see claim `cardio:claim-sglt2-hf-four-trials` and its context] - Related to: Cardiac rehabilitation (`cardio:cardiac-rehabilitation`) - Related to: Four-class medicine regimen in heart failure (guideline-directed medical therapy) (`cardio:hfref-four-medicine-regimen`) - Evaluated for this: CardioMEMS HF System (`cardio:cardiomems-hf-system`) [a claim, not a settled fact; see claim `cardio:claim-champion-hospitalization` and its context] - Related to: Living with a new heart-failure diagnosis (`cardio:reading-path-heart-failure`) - Investigated in: CHAMPION trial (`cardio:champion-trial`) - Investigated in: COAPT trial (`cardio:coapt`) - Investigated in: DANISH (`cardio:danish-trial`) - Investigated in: HF-ACTION (`cardio:hf-action`) - Investigated in: SCD-HeFT (`cardio:scd-heft`) - Evaluated for this: Implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) (`cardio:implantable-cardioverter-defibrillator`) [a claim, not a settled fact; see claim `cardio:claim-scd-heft-icd-amiodarone` and its context] - Evaluated for this: Implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) (`cardio:implantable-cardioverter-defibrillator`) [a claim, not a settled fact; see claim `cardio:claim-danish-icd-nonischemic-hf` and its context] ## Provenance Content hash: ca4f1f1bec6b7e1280f2336830c7c328075395a828403e02903e38f7f3fd4b98 Last substantive edit: 2026-10-14 Evidence last checked: 2026-10-14