### chronic condition:

Heart failure
* Can cause fatigue, ankle swelling and shortness of breath made worse when lying down.
* affects about five million people in the United States.
* alters the strength and mechanisms of the muscle metaboreflex.
* becomes more common as people age.
* can be chronic, rapidly deteriorating, or anything in between
  - mild to severe
  - have many symptoms
  - intensify in a descending spiral if the blood volume progressively expands
* can involve the left side of the heart, the right side or both
  - the heart, the right side, or both sides
  - occur in several ways
* caused by underlying lung disease is called cor pulmonale.
* changes activation patterns during ventricular fibrillation.
* chronic condition.
* common and serious illness in the United States, particularly in older adults
  - chronic disease that leads to disability and death
  - problem and has high mortality, especially in elderly patients
* complex multisystem disease in which several predictors are categorical
  - problem, best treated by a team of experienced professionals
* condition that occurs because the heart muscle is damaged or overworked.
* costs the Australian health system hundreds of millions of dollars each year.
* develops after myocardial infarction because cardiomyocytes fail to regenerate
  - slowly
* difficult disease to treat.
* disease of epidemic proportions
  - that is more common in the elderly
* happens when the heart is unable to pump enough blood to meet the demands of the body
  - weakened heart can no longer pump a sufficient amount of blood
* has a large medical and economic impact on the elderly.
* has many causes
  - different causes
* heart disease
* is almost always a chronic illness.
* is an inability of the heart to pump blood or meet the needs of the body
  - to pump powerfully enough to circulate blood adequately
  - caused by a number of diseases
* is different from a heart attack
  - cardiac arrest , because the heart is still working
  - than a heart attack
  - divided into various types
  - failure
  - generally the result of other heart diseases
  - increasingly common and is costly to treat
  - more common in older people
  - one of the most serious symptoms of heart disease
  - serious, but it can be treated and controlled
  - slightly more common among men than women
  - sometimes the fault of a defective or diseased heart valve
* is the cause of death in most cases of hypothermia
  - hearts inability to pump enough blood through the rest of the body
  - inability of the heart to pump adequate amounts of blood through the body
  - leading cause of hospitalization among the elderly in the United States
  - most common reason for hospitalization in the elderly
* is the number one cardiovascular disease
  - cause of death worldwide
* is the only form of heart disease on the increase in the United States
  - major cardiovascular disease on the increase
  - single biggest medical problem that blacks face
  - their number one cause of death
  - treated with diuretics and medications to make the heart contract more powerfully
  - typified by the heart's inability to pump effectively
  - very common in the elderly
* medical condition in which the heart has been weakened.
* misleading term.
* occurs under a number of circumstances.
* occurs when the heart cannon pump enough blood to meet the body's needs
  - fails to pump enough blood to meet the body's demands
  - loses the ability to pump blood efficiently through the body
  - pumps too weakly to deliver enough oxygen to the body
  - hearts pumping power is reduced
* progressive process, even if no new damage occurs to the heart.
* refers to the heart's inability to pump enough blood to meet the demands of the body.
* remains a serious threat to public health throughout the world
  - the major cause of death and research is needed into novel drug approaches
* requires monitoring of the condition by the health care provider.
* serious condition, and there is usually no cure
  - disorder that carries a possibility of reduced life expectancy
* serious, chronic disease.
* tends to be chronic and difficult to treat.
* treatable illness that can be managed.
* widespread, growing condition that robs people of quality and quantity of life.
* worsens with infection or other physical stressors.
  * ' is when the heart cannot pump blood well. Heart failure is different from cardiac arrest, because the heart is still working. Someone with heart failure can have shortness of breath, difficulty lying flat, waking up breathless at night, swelling of the legs, and needing to urinate often during the night. There are many reasons why someone can get heart failure, but most often heart attacks, high blood pressure or problems with the heart valves. Some people with heart failure are treated with an artificial pacemaker that makes the heart work better.