congestive heart failure n heart failure in which the heart is unable to maintain adequate circulation of blood in the tissues of the body or to pump out the venous blood returned to it by the venous circulation compare CORONARY FAILURE
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(CHF) a clinical syndrome due to heart disease, characterized by breathlessness and abnormal sodium and water retention, often resulting in edema. The congestion may occur in the lungs or peripheral circulation or both, depending on whether the heart failure is right-sided or general.Medical dictionary. 2011.