Figure 14.7 Congestive Heart Failure Animation Video
Transcript:
Congestive Heart Failure
Congestive heart failure is a condition in which the heart becomes too weak to pump blood effectively through the body, usually due to the continuous strain of pumping blood through narrow or stiff blood vessels.
In a healthy heart, the left ventricle contracts to pump oxygen-rich blood out of the heart into the rest of the body.
Heart failure occurs when the heart muscle weakens and is unable to pump blood effectively. In heart failure, the heart muscle struggles to pump blood through narrow or hardened arteries, causing the left ventricle to dilate, or widen. As the ventricle dilates, the amount of blood it can pump with each contraction decreases, reducing how much blood is supplied to the rest of the body.
As congestive heart failure progresses, the body tissues and organs are deprived of the oxygen-rich blood they need to function.