Heart failure is a clinical picture, which develops after the heart cannot properly pump blood to tissues and organs due to reduction in performance of the heart.
It usually develops due to the conditions that impair the cardiac performance or increase the work load of the heart, such as coronary artery disease, heart attack, high blood pressure (hypertension) and heart valve disease.
Heart failure can begin at any age, while its incidence increases at advanced age. In general population, the incidence is 1% in people below 65 years of the age, while the figure increases up to 7% in the age range of 75 years to 84 years and to 15% above 85 years of age. It is the most common reason of inpatient admissions for people older than 65.
Treatment of heart failure with various medications, pacemakers and cardiac surgeries (coronary by-pass, heart valve surgery, etc.) may last several years. However, it leads to death very soon at the end stage (Stage D). This condition leads to death more quickly than many types of human cancers.