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Heart failure - chronic - Background information
What are the complications?
- Arrhythmias
- Arrhythmias occur commonly in people with heart failure at any stage [DH, 2000].
- Atrial fibrillation — the prevalence of atrial fibrillation increases with the severity of heart failure, increasing from about 10% in people with mild to moderate heart failure (New York Heart Association [NYHA] classes II and III) to 50% in people with severe heart failure (NYHA class IV) [Maisel and Stevenson, 2003]. It is unclear whether atrial fibrillation is an independent predictor of mortality in people with heart failure [Neuberger et al, 2007]. See the CKS topic on Atrial fibrillation.
- Ventricular arrhythmias are common in people with heart failure, particularly people with a dilated left ventricle and reduced left ventricular ejection fraction [European Society of Cardiology, 2008]. Complex ventricular arrhythmia is associated with a poor outcome.
- Sudden death
- Depression
- Sexual dysfunction
- Cachexia (wasting)
- Wasting is a serious complication of chronic heart failure. It usually occurs together with severe dyspnoea and weakness. Life expectancy for people with heart failure with cachexia is worse than that for people with most cancers [European Society of Cardiology, 2008].
- The pathophysiology of cachexia in heart failure is poorly understood, and it is not known whether it can be improved by treatment [European Society of Cardiology, 2008].
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