Term: Congestive Heart Failure (CHF)

Glossary Definition

Last Updated: 2013-04-18

Definition:

A chronic disease that is often called congestive cardiac failure (CCF) or heart failure. CHF is characterized by the inability of the heart to pump a sufficient amount of blood throughout the body, or by requiring elevated filling pressures in order to pump effectively. CHF is an abnormal cardiac condition that reflects impaired cardiac pumping and blood flow. The pooling of blood leads to congestion in body tissue.

For information on the methods used to define CHF in MCHP research, including the ICD codes, please see the Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) concept.

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