heart failure

Is heart failure the same as a heart attack?

[jrbon]

No.

Jesus

[ireneo]

A heart attack is usually caused by a blockage in the heart or nearby vessels and usually causes some damage to the heart muscle due to lack of blood flow.

Heart failure is the heart's inability to work well either due to damage or thickening of the heart muscle or thinning of the heart muscle. It just doesn't pump well any more and results in many symptoms. You can look it up here under Health Information at the top of the page or google the term.

[Flycaster305]

The word Congestive Heart Failure is such a negative term, I wish there was an effort to give it name that wasn't so negative.
As Ireneo mentioned, if the heart's ability to pump blood drops below a 40% level of efficiency, the term Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) is used to describe the heart health.  A heart attack can weaken the heart to a condition where CHF is a term used to describe it, but through exercise, drugs and diet one can improve the heart function dramatically.  I'm just one of many, many people on this board that have raised their heart health above the CHF level.  The phrases "Heart Attack" and "Congestive Heart Failure" are scary terms, but those of us with heart troubles are lucky compared to folks with problems of the lungs, liver, kidneys, our problems can be cured through a partnership with health professionals.

[ChatterAlly]

Those are 2 entirely different events. Why your question? Do you have reason to believe you have experienced one or the other? Have you sought any medical advise on this?

[grendslori]

A heart attack is an acute episode; heart failure is a chronic event. A lot of people think that if a person dies from a heart attack than he has died of heart failure and that is why so many people think that way. Not true.