About one quarter of cases of congestive heart failure, also called CHF for short are due to hypertension alone. The way that hypertension causes CHF is by making the heart pump against resistance for many years. The best way is to get your blood pressure measured about 4 or five times, take the average. Of equal importance is to get your cholesterol measured about 2 or 3 times over a few weeks. Know that if you smoke cigarettes, you are at great risk for heart disease on that alone.
Risk factors are additive and even multiplicative.
Important to know as well is your level of exercise. Any degree of exercise becomes protective but 40 minutes of brisk walking 4 times a week is highly protective. Also know if you are depressed, that is a risk factor. Levels of stress, especially if you have anger and hostility, acts as a risk factor as well probably by raising levels of cortisol and catecholamines. Smoking seems to damage the heart in many different ways.