Ask the doctor: Are there different kinds of heart failure?
Ask the doctor
Are there different kinds of heart failure?
Q. Several years ago, a friend in my sewing circle was diagnosed with congestive heart failure. My doctor just told me I have heart failure. Are these the same condition or different ones?
A. You and your friend have the same problem: your hearts are having trouble pumping blood effectively. Doctors used to call it congestive heart failure, because many people with it had fluid buildup in the lungs (hence the "congestive") and legs. But others don't. That's why we now call it just heart failure.
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