Spotlight: Heart Failure

Heart failure refers to when the heart is unable to pump blood round the body efficiently. It is also sometimes known as congestive heart failure (CHF). In the UK about 900,000 people have heart failure, with about 60,000 new cases diagnosed each year, mainly affecting older ages. It is the only cardiovascular disorder in the UK which is growing in prevalence. While the oldest identified case of heart failure goes back 3,500 years, to the Valley of the Queens in Luxor, Egypt, it wasn't until 1628, that an English physician, William Harvey, made the first accurate description of how the h...