Cardiac Failure

Abstract

Heart failure is a condition where the key body system for survival, namely the circulation, is threatened. The response of the body to heart failure is the paradigm for the mechanisms and responses of the body to maintain survival. These are ancient reflexes built into the body during evolution. Thus maintenance of the blood pressure, the elimination of external microorganisms and the prevention of hemorrhage are the three key requirements for survival and it is precisely these systems that are activated when the body is challenged by diseases such as coronary heart disease which occur way beyond the reproductive age. Consequently the response of the body to many chronic diseases is identical to that observed in terminal heart failure when the entity referred to as cardiac cachexia is present.