What's the average prognosis for someone with heart failure?

Depends what type of heart failure and whats causing the heart failure. Heart failure isn't a diagnosis itself, but rather a 'state' that patients can move in and out of. For example, in otherwise healthy people an overwhelming chest infection or hyperthyroidism may precipitate heart failure. As these conditions are treated, the heart failure will be resolved or improve.

However, for many patients heart failure exists to a greater or lesser extent as the result of a specific condition. Drug therapy can control the symptoms of heart failure but often the natural course of the condition is usually one of progressive deterioration (especially in older people with heart disease).

Best advise is to speak to her Doctor who is privy to her situation.

1

Your question is difficult to answer without knowing some additional specifics.

First of all heart failure is a very vague term that is loosely thrown around. In general, heart failure does not mean that the heart is completely dead or has completely stopped, but rather it refers to the heart's inability to pump enough blood to meet the metabolic demands of the rest of the body. The clinical manifestation of this condition is usually shortness of breath or fatigue.

This condition can be caused by million different reasons, with the most common reason being heart attacks caused by a sudden blockage in one of the the heart's arteries. Other reasons include alcohol abuse, other drugs, toxins, too much or too little thyroid hormone, congenital heart disease, various infections, etc.

In addition to defining the cause, there are a number of ways to classify the type of heart failure: systolic vs diastolic, Stage A-D, NYHA I-IV.

Finally, the prognosis is also heavily influenced by the reversibility of the causes, each patient's overall condition (obviously), and the treatment he/she is on.

To give a very rough idea on overall prognosis; however, one can define the severity of heart failure based on the New York Heart Association classification (NYHA). It is classified as such:

Class I: Presence of cardiac disease but ordinary physical activity does not cause symptoms of shortness of breath or fatigue

Class II: Patients usually do not feel short of breath but they may feel short of breath with moderate activity

Class III: Patients feel short of breath with minimal activity, such as walking to the bathroom or doing light housework.

Class IV: Patients feel short of breath at rest.

Based on this classification, the expected annual mortality risk is:

Class I: ~10% (1 in 10 chance of death each year)

Class II: ~20-30% (2-3 in 10 chance of death each year)

Class III-IV: >60% (>6 in 10 chance of death each year)

These statistics are an oversimplification and may not apply to a specific individual; however, they can be used as a starting point. If you have a a little bit more information you can use the "Seattle Heart Failure Model," published by the University of Washington

Link: http://depts.washington.edu/shfm/press

As always, statistics cannot be completely relied upon, because all clinical studies have significant methodolgic limitations, and so, a good working relationship with a physician is critical.

Finally, I'll give two examples to highlight some limitations of assessing prognosis:

1. A patient with class III-IV heart failure secondary to severe aortic stenosis will have a near normal prognosis if he/she undergoes successful aortic valve surgery.

2. A patient with class III-IV heart failure secondary to chronic alcohol use who refuses to abstain from alcohol will have a very poor prognosis (>60% mortality in one year).

God some people are so unsympathetic, It depends on many factors such as the side of the heart, type of heart failure etc. The best person to answer this for you would be the doctor treating the patient.

Their heart will eventually fail and they will die?

If they are being treated and on proper medication and precautions they will last longer then without.

I am not quite sure of what else you may be asking for.

Unless you mean, how long do they have left to live after being diagnosed with heart failure.

But in any case, you would have to supply alot more information and details on the matter and even with all that its still a guessing game, but the guess would be closer.

Your kidding right???

If you have heart failure you are dead, deceased, late, an ex person.

The prognosis would be as funeral I suppose.