Precipitating Causes of Acute Heart Failure
Although there are multiple precipitating causes of CPO (see diagram below) there appears to be clinically two main groups. Those with (i) pump failure ie. systolic dysfunction with a reduced ejection fraction and (ii) those with diastolic dysfunction and preserved ejection fraction. This latter group are often hypertensive and have stiff left ventricles which are unable to relax.
Precipitating Causes of Acute Heart Failure
