Definition of "heart failure" [heart failure]

• Cessation of normal heart function. (noun)
• The inability of the heart to pump blood at an adequate rate, resulting in congestion in the lungs, shortness of breath, edema in the lower extremities, and enlargement of the liver. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Whatever it was it had made her very weak; at Ayer Kuning she developed dysentery again, and died in two days, probably of heart failure or exhaustion."
• "They poured into Molly’s young body through the old woman’s hand — heart failure and kidney failure and arthritis and inoperable stomach cancer."