Which condition is characterized by the heart's inability to pump effectively?

Heart failure is characterized by the heart's inability to pump effectively, which can lead to inadequate blood flow to meet the body's needs. This condition results from various underlying health issues, including coronary artery disease, hypertension, or previous heart attacks. In heart failure, the heart may either be unable to fill adequately with blood (diastolic dysfunction) or unable to contract and pump blood efficiently (systolic dysfunction).

Understanding heart failure is crucial, as it presents with symptoms such as fatigue, shortness of breath, and fluid retention, impacting quality of life significantly. Effective management often involves lifestyle changes, medications, and in severe cases, surgical interventions.

Other conditions listed, while significant in their own right, do not specifically describe the heart's inability to pump effectively. Hypertension refers to high blood pressure, which can contribute to heart failure over time but does not describe a pump failure. Atherosclerosis involves the buildup of plaques in arteries that can restrict blood flow but does not directly impact the pumping mechanism of the heart. Myocardial infarction, often known as a heart attack, involves damage to the heart muscle due to reduced blood supply but is a specific event rather than a chronic condition of persistent failure to pump effectively.

Therefore, heart failure