Heart failure is a condition which may be caused by a wide variety of heart related ailments. The heart of a person who has been diagnosed with heart failure simply cannot pump
blood in sufficient volume to satisfy the body's oxygen requirements. As the name suggests, the underlying condition (infection of the heart, coronary artery disease,
diabetes,
heart valve defect,
high blood pressure,
emphysema and others) weakens the heart muscle causing it to slowly deteriorate until it is unable to meet the body's requirements. While this degenerative disease rarely causes sudden death, most people who suffer from heart failure die within ten years.
View sub-topics at right to learn more about some specific drugs used to treat heart failure and some of the drugs' more serious adverse side effects.
See Also
- Aldactone / Spironolactone
- Bepridil: Overview
- Beta-Blockers: Overview
- Cordarone: Overview
- Prescription & Over-the-Counter Drugs: Overview
- Natrecor / Nesiritide
- Norpace / Disopyramide
- Pacerone / Cordarone / Amiodarone Hydrochloride
- Primacor / Milrinone: Overview
- Quinidine / Quinidex
- Tikosyn / Dofetilide: Overview
- Vasotec / Enalapril