Heart failure in primary care

Structural or functional heart abnormalities (cardiovascular disease) may result in heart failure as a result of reduced capacity to pump blood to oxygenate metabolising tissues. This is often due to coronary artery disease, which may have led to myocardial infarction.¹

Heart failure may occur due to left ventricular systolic dysfunction which in turn causes a reduced left ventricular ejection fraction. In contrast, heart failure may occur with a preserved ejection fraction. This may be associated with impaired left ventricular relaxation rather than left ventricular contraction.¹

NICE reports that approximately 900,000 people in the UK have heart failure with the average age of diagnosis being 76.¹ The prevalence and incidence of heart failure increases with advancing age. It is reported that up to 2% of the adult population in the developed world may have heart failure.²