Cardiac insufficiency develops when the heart is so damaged that it can no longer pump enough blood to the tissues.

When the tissues are no longer sufficiently supplied with blood, this can result in organ damage or, in extreme cases, in death, because the blood is the main supplier of nutrients and oxygen.

Cardiac insufficiency can be caused by many factors – by a swelling of the heart muscle (1), an enlargement of the hollow chambers in the heart (2), a heart attack (3) or a blood clot (4). Courtesy: www.internet-forum-gmbh.de

Cardiac insufficiency is one of the most common illnesses worldwide. In Germany, three percent of the population suffers from cardiac insufficiency. In people over the age of 70, the number is even ten percent.

The main cause of cardiac insufficiency is arteriosclerosis and high blood pressure. In these cases, the heart has to pump against blood vessels that are too constricted. At first, the body tries to cope with the situation: the heart muscle and/or the cardiac chambers are enlarged so that the heart can pump more forcefully again and still supply the body with a sufficient amount of blood.

At first, these measures seem successful. But when the heart muscle is enlarged, this also alters its structure. While the muscle is larger then, it is also more fragile and weaker. Thus in the long run, this compensatory measure is detrimental and damages the heart. Indeed, the cardiac insufficiency may even get worse.

Damages to the heart also occur when the blood vessels of the heart are constricted or congested. The reason is that in these cases, the supply of the heart muscle with nutrients and oxygen becomes worse or ceases altogether. Parts of the heart muscle disintegrate or die off. In the worst case, this leads to a heart attack.

But even myocarditis, cardiac arrhythmia, cardiac valve defect or a blood clot in the ventricle can lead to cardiac insufficiency.