What’s Putting You at Risk of Heart Failure?

Written by: Dr. Raquel Hammonds
July 17, 2025

Your heart is your body’s life engine: it pumps oxygenated blood to your brain, muscles, and organs with every beat. When it’s healthy, blood flows smoothly through four chambers. But when the heart becomes too weak or stiff to pump effectively, that’s when heart failure can develop.¹

Heart failure doesn’t mean the heart stops, it describes a condition in which the heart can’t meet the body’s demands. It often progresses over time and can lead to fluid buildup, fatigue, shortness of breath, and swelling in the legs.¹

Understanding your heart and the forces that overload it is the first step toward prevention. Let’s explore what stresses the heart, how those stresses turn into failure, and what you can do to protect yours.

How a Healthy Heart Works

Your heart is divided into four chambers: the upper atria receive blood returning to the heart, and the lower ventricles pump it out. With each heartbeat, the myocardium (heart muscle) contracts (systole) to push blood out and relaxes (diastole) to fill back up.²

Valves ensure blood flows in one direction; mitral, tricuspid, pulmonary, and aortic valves prevent backflow. A healthy heart maintains a consistent rhythm, strong pressure, and properly functioning vessels and valves.²

What Is Heart Failure?

Heart failure occurs when damage or chronic stress weaken the heart’s ability to pump (systolic failure) or impair its ability to relax and fill with enough blood (diastolic failure). Over time, the heart’s pumping capacity declines. Backed-up fluid may collect in the lungs or feet, this congestion is why doctors often refer to the condition as “congestive heart failure”.³

This condition doesn’t happen instantly; it develops slowly. The heart muscle compensates by enlarging or stiffening, but eventually this remodeling leads to further weakness.³

Major Risk Factors for Heart Failure

High Blood Pressure
When arteries are constricted due to high blood pressure, the heart must pump harder with each beat. Over years, this extra work thickens the myocardium and impairs its function. Nearly 90% of heart failure cases are linked to hypertension (high blood pressure).¹
Coronary Artery Disease
Coronary arteries clogged by plaques (atherosclerosis) starve heart tissue of blood. Heart attacks result in damaging muscle and reducing pumping strength, leading to heart failure.¹
Diabetes & Metabolic Syndrome
With diabetes, elevated blood sugar puts extra stress on blood vessels and contributes to hypertension, obesity, and cholesterol issues. These combined factors significantly escalate heart failure risk.¹
Obesity & Inactivity
Carrying extra weight forces the heart to pump more blood, a compounding stress. Physical inactivity exacerbates hypertension and obesity, and limits protective cardiovascular (heart health) benefits.¹
Smoking & Alcohol Misuse
Tobacco damages vessels and raises blood pressure, and alcohol can weaken the heart muscle (alcoholic cardiomyopathy). Even moderate drinking may elevate risk depending on genetics and overall health.¹
Other Conditions & Medications
Valve problems, arrhythmias, thyroid disease, sleep apnea, certain chemotherapy drugs, and NSAIDs can all damage the heart muscle over time.¹

The Unequal Burden of Heart Failure

Heart failure doesn’t affect everyone equally. Black Americans face a much higher risk than white Americans—about 19% higher, according to research. What makes this even more concerning is that Black people tend to develop heart failure at younger ages, and when they do get it, it’s often more severe.¹

Hispanic Americans also face serious challenges when it comes to heart health. Studies show they’re more likely to have the kinds of health problems that lead to heart failure, like diabetes and high blood pressure. On top of that, they often have trouble getting quality healthcare, which means these risk factors may go untreated for longer periods.¹

These differences aren’t just numbers, they represent real people and families dealing with a serious health condition that could have been prevented or better managed with the right care and support.¹

Conclusion

Protecting your heart is about steady, everyday choices, not perfection. Each meal, each walk, each good night’s sleep makes a difference. And every healthy change you make helps your heart do what it does best: keep you living, moving, and thriving.