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Heart Failure

Meaning

Heart failure is a complex, progressive clinical syndrome resulting from any structural or functional impairment of ventricular filling or ejection of blood, leading to the heart’s inability to pump sufficient blood to meet the body’s metabolic needs. This condition is characterized by a detrimental neurohormonal activation, including the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) and sympathetic nervous system, which initially attempts to compensate but ultimately contributes to adverse myocardial remodeling and disease progression. Clinical management is highly focused on mitigating the maladaptive endocrine responses that drive this severe pathology.