title: [Understanding heart failure].
abstract: Heart failure is a disease with several definitions. The term "heart failure" is used by has brougth about confusion in the terminology. For this reason, the value of the ejection fraction (< 0.40 or < 0.35) is used in most meganalyses on the treatment of heart failure, avoiding the term "heart failure" that is a confounding concept. In this paper we carefully analyze the meaning of contractility, ventricular function or performance, preload, afterload, heart failure, compensation mechanisms in heart failure, myocardial oxygen consumption, inadequate, adequate and inappropriate hypertrophy, systole, diastole, compliance, problems of relaxation, and diastolic dysfunction. Their definitions are supported by the original scientific descriptions in an attempt to clarify the concepts about ventricular function and heart failure and, in this way, use the same scientific language about the meaning of ventricular function, heart failure, and diastolic dysfunction.
authors.affiliation: Instituto Nacional de Cardiología Ignacio Chávez, Juan Badiano Num. 1 Col. Sección XVI Deleg. Tlalpan 14080, México, D.F. guadalajara@cardiologia.org.mx
authors.forename: José Fernando Guadalajara
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Boo
mesh_terms: D006332:Cardiomegaly / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology; D003971:Diastole / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006321:Heart / Q000503:physiopathology; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006352:Heart Ventricles / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009200:Myocardial Contraction; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000209:etiology; D009206:Myocardium / Q000378:metabolism; D010101:Oxygen Consumption; D011654:Pulmonary Edema / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology; D013902:Radiography, Thoracic; D013318:Stroke Volume; D013599:Systole / Q000502:physiology; D009626:Terminology as Topic; D016276:Ventricular Function