by Judy Lubin, MPH
Medical review: Sharonne Hayes, M.D., Director, Mayo Clinic Women’s Heart Clinic

A diagnosis of heart failure can trigger a flood of emotions including fear, anxiety and confusion. Fortunately, heart failure does not mean that the heart has stopped working. It does mean that the heart has been weakened and has to work harder.

Heart failure occurs when the heart is unable to pump adequate blood to the rest of the body. The two main types of heart failure are “systolic,” where the heart muscle is weakened and does not contract properly, and “heart failure with normal ejection fraction,”   (previously called “diastolic heart failure”) where the heart muscle contracts normally, but cannot relax properly, leading to shortness of breath. Read full article from WomenHeart April 2008 newsletter.