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congestive heart failure(CHF) heart failure caused by impaired pumping capability of the heart that is not keeping up with the metabolic needs of body tissues and organs; it is associated with abnormal retention of water and sodium. It ranges from mild congestion with few symptoms to a life-threatening condition with fluid overload. This type of heart failure results in an inadequate supply of blood and oxygen to the body's cells. Decreased cardiac output causes an increase in the blood volume within the vascular system. Congestion within the blood vessels interferes with the movement of body fluids in and out of the various fluid compartments, so that fluid accumulates in the tissue spaces, causing edema.
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