How Does Heart Failure Affect My Risk Of Developing An Abnormal Heart Rhythm?

— -- Question: How does heart failure affect my risk of developing an abnormal heart rhythm?

Answer :Heart failure is a term applied to generally a weakened heart muscle and that degree of weakness is often measured by ejection fraction. When heart failure occurs, the heart often dilates, that is the bottom chambers in order to still eject enough blood to the body, they get bigger and that dilation can cause heart rhythm problems. When there's a scar like a heart attack or fibrosis from the dilation -- and the two can be linked together -- that reduced heart function plus the abnormal anatomy of the heart can very definitely predispose to developing ventricular arrhythmias and at times sudden death. So, heart failure very definitely has an impact on the subsequent development of arrhythmias.