Imbalances in Cardiac Output

Congestive heart failure, or CHF, can reduce the heart's pumping efficiency.

In CHF, an increase in preload excessively stretches the myocardium, eventually leading to decreased pumping capacity.

It is commonly caused by coronary atherosclerosis, high blood pressure, myocardial infarctions, and dilated cardiomyopathy.

In coronary atherosclerosis, fatty deposits build up in the coronary arteries and impair blood flow to the myocardium.

Persistent high blood pressure forces the ventricles to work harder to overcome it, increasing myocardial strain.

A myocardial infarction causes the death of cardiac tissue, which gets replaced by noncontractile scar tissue, reducing pumping capacity.

Dilated cardiomyopathy may result from a number of causes, including drug toxicity or coronary artery disease, to name a few, weakening the myocardium.

Additionally, each side of the heart can fail independently, causing different symptoms.

If the left side fails, blood builds up in the lungs, causing pulmonary edema and potential suffocation.

If the right side fails, it leads to peripheral congestion, causing fluid buildup in tissues and edema in the extremities.