心衰竭 Heart Failure

心衰竭是一種逐漸惡化且有潛在致命風險的狀況，全球有超過六千萬人受影響，預計隨著人口老化而增加。心衰竭指的是心臟無法足夠地將血液泵送遍全身。慢性心臟衰竭患者可能表現為左心室射出分率降低（Heart failure with reduced ejection fraction,HFrEF）或正常收縮分率（Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction,HFpEF）的情況。HFrEF發生時，心臟肌肉無法有效地收縮，導致泵送至全身的血液量減少，通常與過去的心臟事件、冠狀動脈疾病和心臟結構損傷有關。HFpEF則是指心臟肌肉正常收縮，但左心室無法充分填滿血液，通常是由於心臟肌肉變硬所引起。HFrEF和HFpEF都與高血壓、冠狀動脈疾病、肥胖和第二型糖尿病等共病有關。心臟衰竭是美國和歐洲住院的主要原因，而亞洲地區的患者數量也在增加。心臟衰竭患者每次住院的風險都會上升。

Heart failure is a progressive and potentially fatal condition that is affecting over 60 million people worldwide and expected to increase as the population ages. Heart failure refers to the inability of the heart to pump sufficient blood through the body. Patients with chronic heart failure can present with either reduced (HFrEF) or preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). HFrEF happens when the heart muscle does not contract effectively, and less blood is pumped out to the body often related to previous cardiac events, coronary artery disease and structural damage to the heart. HFpEF occurs when the heart muscle contracts normally but the left ventricle does not fill with enough blood, often due to stiffening of the heart muscle. Both, HFrEF and HFpEF, are related to co-morbidities like hypertension, coronary artery disease, obesity and type-2-diabetes. Heart failure is the leading cause of hospitalization in the US and Europe, and the number of patients across Asia is also increasing. The risk of death in people with heart failure rises with each hospital admission.