1 Left- and Right-Sided Heart Failure
Learn how left-, right-, and biventricular heart failure differ in their effects, common causes, and patterns of fluid backup.
What means
occurs when the heart cannot pump or fill well enough to meet the body’s needs. It may affect the left side, the right side, or both. The affected side influences where blood and fluid tend to back up, but symptoms can overlap and one-sided can progress to involve both sides.
When the left ventricle cannot pump blood effectively to the body or fill adequately between beats, pressure can rise behind the left side of the heart. This can cause fluid to build up in the lungs. Lung congestion may lead to shortness of breath, including difficulty breathing when lying flat.
Common contributors to include coronary artery disease, heart attack, high blood pressure, and heart-valve or heart-muscle disorders.
may involve reduced pumping ability, called , or impaired relaxation and filling, called . A weakly contracting left ventricle is associated with . A stiff ventricle that does not relax and fill normally is associated with , even though its ejection fraction may be preserved.
When the right ventricle cannot pump blood effectively to the lungs, blood backs up in the body’s veins. This can contribute to swelling in the legs and ankles, as well as abdominal swelling or fluid buildup and abdominal fullness.
often contributes to : pressure can rise in the lung blood vessels when the left side fails, making the right ventricle work harder and potentially impairing its function over time. Other conditions that can contribute directly to include lung disease, pulmonary hypertension, right-sided valve disease, and congenital heart conditions.
When both sides are involved
When both sides are affected, a person may have signs of lung congestion as well as swelling or abdominal fluid buildup. This combination is a pattern of .
These patterns are common, not absolute rules. Shortness of breath, fatigue, and fluid retention can occur in more than one type of . often follows , but it does not always do so; lung conditions and conditions affecting the right side of the heart can also contribute.