heart failure

noun

|Updated on: 9 Jul 2018

Definition of heart failure

1 : a condition in which the heart is unable to pump blood at an adequate rate or in adequate volume

2 : cessation of heartbeat : death

Recent Examples of heart failure from the Web

If that was the case for diabetes or heart failure or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, there would be a huge hullaballoo.

— patrick skerrett, STAT, "Hey, doctors: Why aren’t you stepping up to treat people with opioid addiction?," 5 July 2018
Overall, the use of telemedicine was found to either lead to similar outcomes as face-to-face visits (in managing heart failure, for instance) or to better care (in controlling blood glucose, for example, in people with diabetes).

— clifton leaf, Fortune, "Why Hasn’t Telemedicine Taken Off? Hey, Blame This Guy.," 3 July 2018
Medicine has known about heart failure since ancient times.

— jonathan saltzman, BostonGlobe.com, "Bayer AG teams up with the Broad to tackle congestive heart failure," 28 June 2018
Babies are usually compromised by that tumor and are in some kind of heart failure to begin with.

— the washington post, OregonLive.com, "Some people do better exercising at a low-intensity pace," 29 Apr. 2018
For example, by using predictive analytics to risk-stratify patients with heart failure, one group reduced hospital readmissions by nearly 20%.

— nathan handley, Philly.com, "5 proven ways to help save cancer patients from preventable ER visits," 24 Apr. 2018
Endotronix created a device that can be implanted into patients with heart failure to send messages to cardiologists, helping them make medication changes, CEO Harry Rowland said.

— ally marotti, chicagotribune.com, "Leader of Polsky Center, University of Chicago's innovation hub, to step down," 12 Apr. 2018
His death, at a hospital in Masset, a village on the Haida Gwaii islands, resulted from complications of a lung infection and heart failure, his wife, Susan Musgrave, a noted Canadian poet and author, said.

— ian austen, BostonGlobe.com, "Stephen Reid, gentleman bank robber turned writer, dies at 68," 20 June 2018
His death, at a hospital in Masset, a village on the Haida Gwaii islands, resulted from complications of a lung infection and heart failure, his wife, Susan Musgrave, a noted Canadian poet and author, said.

— ian austen, New York Times, "Stephen Reid, Gentleman Bank Robber Turned Writer, Dies at 68," 15 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'heart failure.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of heart failure

1574

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

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Medical Dictionary

heart failure

noun

medical Definition of heart failure

1 : a condition in which the heart is unable to pump blood at an adequate rate or in adequate volume — compare angina pectoris, congestive heart failure, coronary failure, heart attack

2 : cessation of heartbeat : death