Heart failure causes and other common medical conditions

Heart failure including congestive heart failure (CHF) can be due to a variety of underlying causes. It is of utmost importance to identify this cause. If the diagnosis of heart failure has been made, diagnostics are not finished but should be continued to determine the origin of the heart failure symptoms. Only then, optimal treatment can be tailored both to the affected person and the underlying cause.

Please note, that the causes of heart failure may lie within the heart or outside the heart. In the second column you find body systems, which may result in heart failure if they become diseased or malfunctioning. In the third column you find important examples, although the list is not complete. More information on each of these causes is provided on subsequent pages.

Within the heart

Affected part of the heart	Important examples
Vessels	Coronary artery disease Past heart attacks / myocardial infarction
Valves & heart muscle	Valvular heart disease Heart muscle disease, i.e. cardiomyopathy Congenital heart defects
Rhythm	Abnormal heart rhythm, e.g. atrial fibrillation

Outside the heart

Affected body system	Important examples
Arteries	High blood pressure, i.e. (arterial) hypertension
Lungs	Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) Asthma Pulmonary hypertension Sleep apnea
Kidneys	Loss of filtration capacity
Thyroid gland	Thyroid dysfunction
Metabolism	Diabetes Obesity & anorexia Iron deficiency Anemia Gout Amyloidosis and other rare conditions
Intoxication	Alcohol Chemotherapy Radiation
Inflammation	Chronic inflammatory conditions (viruses, bacteria etc.) Septicemia
Psyche	Depression Anxiety