Heart Failure

Heart failure means the heart is not moving enough blood to keep up with what the body needs, either because the muscle is too weak to pump well or because it cannot fill properly between beats. Despite the name, the heart is still working. The condition can come on suddenly (acute heart failure) or build over months and years (chronic heart failure), and it can affect the left side, the right side, or both.

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute reports that more than 6 million adults in the United States have heart failure, citing CDC figures. It is usually caused by another condition that has damaged the heart, such as coronary heart disease, high blood pressure, heart inflammation, cardiomyopathy, or an irregular heartbeat. Common symptoms include shortness of breath, tiredness, and swelling in the legs, ankles, or belly from fluid buildup.

Heart failure comes up in lawsuits in two main ways. First, drug and device injury cases sometimes allege that a product damaged the heart or made existing heart disease worse, and the label did not warn about that risk. Second, untreated or mistreated conditions, including thyroid disorders caused by mislabeled or improperly dosed medicines, can strain the heart over time. In either kind of case, the person usually needs medical records showing the diagnosis, the timing, and a doctor's opinion linking it to the product.

Injury claims like these are almost always filed as individual lawsuits, often grouped with similar cases, rather than as a class action. Our guide on class actions versus mass torts explains the difference, and what an MDL is covers how federal courts group these cases.