Heart failure can be caused by anything that damages the heart muscle and stops the heart from contracting or relaxing normally. The heart loses some of its ability to pump effectively as a natural consequence of aging, but many diseases can also affect the heart muscle.

The most common causes of heart failure are:

• High blood pressure (hypertension)
• Heart attack (myocardial infarction)
• Narrowing of the heart’s arteries (coronary artery disease, angina)

Other things that may cause or contribute to heart failure, include:

• Diabetes
• Diseased heart muscle (cardiomyopathy)
• Leaking or narrowing of heart valves (valvular regurgitation or stenosis)
• Heart defects present at birth (congenital heart disease)
• Abnormal heart rhythms (arrhythmias)
• Infections of the heart (endocarditis)
• Lung disease
• Anemia
• Underactive thyroid gland (hypothyroidism)
• Alcohol abuse
• Some medical treatments
• Some types of cancer
  
  

Additional information