Understanding Heart Failure
What is Heart Failure?
Heart failure occurs when the heart becomes weak or stiff and cannot pump blood properly throughout the body. This condition leads to symptoms that may impair your quality of life.
Common symptoms of heart failure
Shortness of breath
during exertion
Difficulty performing
daily physical activities
Fatigue and weakness
Swelling in the legs,
ankles, feet or belly
Heart failure by the numbers
Cause of death and hospitalization in the US¹
Expected costs by 2030²
People living with heart failure worldwide³
Although medications are available to help manage heart failure, many patients still experience debilitating symptoms, frequent hospitalization, and reduced quality of life.
However, a new investigational treatment called interatrial shunting is currently being evaluated for certain types of heart failure.
Heart failure treatment options
1 US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
2 Heidenreich P.A., Albert N.M., Allen L.A., et al. "Forecasting the impact of heart failure in the United States: a policy statement from the American Heart Association". Circ Heart Fail 2013;6:606-619.
3 Savarese G, Lund LH. Global Public Health Burden of Heart Failure. Card Fail Rev. 2017;3(1):7-11.