question: What are the hallmarks of congestive heart failure?
answer: Congestive heart failure (HF) is a clinical syndrome, with hallmarks of fatigue and dyspnea, that continues to be highly prevalent and morbid. Common pathophysiologic features of HF include changes in left ventricle structure, function, and neurohormonal activation. Disturbed myocardial calcium handling is also one of the pathophysiologic hallmarks of congestive heart failure. One of the hallmarks of chronic congestive heart failure is an increase in sympathetic tone to the peripheral circulation and to the heart. It has been proposed that the activation of neurohormonal pathways and the formation of oxygen free radicals ultimately lead to the activation of a family of transcription factors that are involved in cardiac and vascular remodelling which are hallmarks of congestive heart failure. Myocardial failure ultimately leads to exaggerated neurohumoral compensatory mechanisms and derangements of the peripheral circulation, which are the hallmarks of congestive heart failure. Two additional hallmarks of this syndrome are sodium and water retention. Accumulation of oxidized matrix between the endothelium and cardiac muscle, and endocardial endothelial dysfunction, are also hallmarks of congestive heart failure.