It’s the leading cause of hospitalization in the United States for people 85 or older. More than 6 million Americans live with it, and the number is growing. Ultimately, approximately one in five people who are 40 and older will develop it.
Congestive heart failure is a chronic and progressive condition in which the heart doesn’t pump blood as well as it should, resulting in fatigue and shortness of breath. It’s increasingly common, partly because more people survive heart attacks that leave the muscle weakened. For many, the prognosis is fatal, with about half of patients diagnosed with it dying within five years.
