Heart

The heart is a muscular organ about the size of a fist, located just behind and slightly left of the breastbone. The heart pumps blood through the network of arteries and veins called the cardiovascular system.
The heart has four chambers:
1. The right atrium receives blood from the veins and pumps it to the right ventricle.
2. The right ventricle receives blood from the right atrium and pumps it to the lungs, where it is loaded with oxygen.
3. The left atrium receives oxygenated blood from the lungs and pumps it to the left ventricle.
4. The left ventricle (the strongest chamber) pumps oxygen-rich blood to the rest of the body. The left ventricle’s vigorous contractions create our blood pressure.

LVF

LVF occurs when the left ventricle is unable to pump all the blood that is delivered to it by the right ventricle at a satisfactory rate. This diminishes the amount of oxygenated blood circulating around the body supplying the brain and heart itself. This inability to pump adequately Is due to damage of the heart muscle caused by myocardial infarct or atherosclerosis. Blood backs up from the left ventricle into the left atrium causing distension and gorging of the pulmonary veins. This back-pressure causes fluid from the blood to be forced through the walls of the alveoli resulting in fluid in the lung called oedema.
The right ventricle which usually pumps blood through the lungs will experience problems due to this build up of fluid and pressure in the alveoli, and will inevitably go into failure itself. This combination of left and right ventricular failure is called complete congestive heart failure (CCF).