Right-Sided Heart Failure
Alternate Names : Congestive Heart Failure - Right
DefinitionRight-sided heart failure is a disorder in which the right side of the heart loses its ability to pump blood efficiently, which is often a complication of other conditions.
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Overview, Causes, & Risk Factors
Heart failure may affect the right side, the left side, or both sides of the heart. In right-sided heart failure, the right side of the heart loses its pumping action and blood may back up into other areas of the body, producing congestion. Congestion affects the liver, the gastrointestinal tract, and the limbs.
In addition, the heart may be unable to pump blood efficiently to the lungs.
Causes of right-sided heart failure include left-sided heart failure and chronic lung diseases (such as emphysema). Other causes include congenital heart disease, primary pulmonary hypertension (PPH), and heart valve disease.
Right-sided heart failure occurs in approximately 5 out of 100 people.
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