Differences Between Diastolic and Systolic Heart Failure

The heart is considered the center of blood circulation, with its primary function embedded in providing the entire body’s organs and tissues with oxygenated, nutrient-rich blood. It also rids the organs and tissues of deoxygenated blood to avoid carbon dioxide poisoning. The left ventricle is the chamber famous for pumping oxygenated blood from the heart to the entire body. Dysfunction of this crucial chamber leads to heart failure, which is classified as diastolic and systolic heart failure. Diastolic heart failure is common and occurs when the heart’s left side becomes too rigid to relax and let blood fill it. Thus, during the cardiac cycle’s resting period, there is not enough blood filling up the heart, translating to the pumping of inadequate amounts (Kosmala & Marwick, 2020). As people age, the heart and associated blood vessels become stiff, leading to heart failure. Conversely, systolic heart failure happens when the heart’s left side is too weak to squeeze normal blood amounts out of a pumping heart. In such a case, blood fills the left ventricle chamber but is never pumped adequately to support vital body functions. It is why physicians refer to it as (HFrEF (Heart Failure with Reduced Ejection Fraction). Consequently, organ failure ensues due to oxygen deprivation.