Left-sided heart failure Health Article

Definition

Left-sided heart failure is a life-threatening condition in which the left side of the heart cannot pump enough blood to the body.

Alternative Names

Congestive heart failure - left

Causes, incidence, and risk factors

Heart failure may affect the right side, the left side, or both sides of the heart. The left side of the heart receives blood rich in oxygen from the lungs and pumps it to the remainder of the body. As the ability to pump blood forward from the left side of the heart is decreased, the remainder of the body does not receive enough oxygen especially when exercising. This results in fatigue.

In addition, the pressure in the veins of the lung increases, which may cause fluid accumulation in the lung. This results in shortness of breath and pulmonary edema.

Common causes of left-sided failure include the following:

• Drinking too much alcohol
• Heart attack
• Heart muscle infections
• High blood pressure
• Hypothyroidism
• Leaking or narrow heart valves
• Any other disease that damages the heart muscle
• Poor left-side heart function due to prior heart attacks

In children, common causes include heart birth defects such as abnormal heart valves, abnormal blood vessel connections, or viral infections.

Left-sided heart failure occurs in approximately 1 to 3 of every 100 people and becomes more prevalent with age.

Symptoms

• Cough (produces frothy or blood-tinged mucus)
• Decreased urine production
• Difficulty lying down; need to sleep with the head elevated to avoid shortness of breath
• Fatigue, weakness, faintness
• Irregular or rapid pulse
• Sensation of feeling the heartbeat (palpitations)
• Shortness of breath
• Waking up due to shortness of breath (paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea)
• Weight gain from fluid retention

Symptoms in infants may include:

• Failure to thrive
• Poor feeding
• Weight loss