Compensation and overcompensation in congestive heart failure. The compensatory mechanisms that develop in response to heart failure have been well defined. In this review, it is argued that each compensatory mechanism leads to overcompensation and that there is no way to distinguish between the beneficial aspects of the former and the harmful effects of the latter. Therapeutic agents that maintain rather than decrease blood pressure might perhaps be more beneficial because of the crucial role of hypotension in initiating both compensation and overcompensation. 