Rare diseases · Sign or symptom

Congestive heart failure

Cardiac failure

HP:0001635

What it means

The presence of an abnormality of cardiac function that is responsible for the failure of the heart to pump blood at a rate that is commensurate with the needs of the tissues or a state in which abnormally elevated filling pressures are required for the heart to do so. Heart failure is frequently related to a defect in myocardial contraction.

In everyday care

Most people with this sign do not have a rare disease — it appears in common conditions far more often. These general reference pages cover the same topic:

Rare diseases that can present with this158

Common30–79%

40

The range is how often this sign appears among people diagnosed with each disease — it is not a probability of having any of them. Many of these signs also occur in common, non-rare conditions. A sign on this page is a conversation to have with a clinician, not a conclusion.

Part of the broader category

Also called: Cardiac failures · Cardiac insufficiency · CHF · Chronic heart failure · Heart failure

Congestive heart failure

Tracking symptoms like this for someone? Eleplan keeps symptoms, diagnoses, medications and every specialist in one plan.

Start free with Eleplan

This page uses the Human Phenotype Ontology (2026-06-23) — Human Phenotype Ontology Consortium, hpo.jax.org. Disease associations from Orphanet (INSERM), CC BY 4.0. Content is educational and is not medical advice.