Top 6 Causes of Heart Failure

1. Aging

The heart loses some of its blood-pumping ability as a natural consequence of aging. An eighty year old heart will not pump as effectively as a twenty year old heart.

2. Heart Disease

Smoking, high cholesterol levels, hypertension (persistent high blood pressure), diabetes and abnormal blood sugar levels, and obesity all increase the risk of heart attack which can damage the heart muscle leading to heart failure.

3. High Blood Pressure

Uncontrolled high blood pressure increases the risk of heart failure by 200 percent, compared with those who do not have hypertension. Moreover, the degree of risk appears directly related to the severity of the high blood pressure.

4. Diabetes

Persons with diabetes have about a two- to eightfold greater risk of heart failure than those without diabetes. Women with diabetes have a greater risk of heart failure than men with diabetes. Part of the risk comes from diabetes' association with other heart failure risk factors, such as high blood pressure, obesity, and high cholesterol levels. However, the disease process in diabetes also damages the heart muscle.

5. Heart Valve Disease and Infection

In some people, heart failure arises from problems with heart valves,the flap-like structures that help regulate blood flow through the heart. Infections (such as rheumatic fever)in the heart are another source of increased risk for heart failure.

6. Genetic Disorders

Genetic abnormalities that may cause abnormalities of the heart structures contribute to the risk for certain types of heart disease, which in turn may lead to heart failure. However, in most instances, a specific genetic link to heart failure has not been identified.