Heart failure is different in every patient - the parts of the heart affected and the symptoms can vary widely. For this reason, your doctor may use several different terms for describing your heart failure.
The two main types of heart failure are chronic heart failure and acute heart failure .
Chronic heart failure is more common and symptoms appear slowly over time and worsen gradually.
Acute heart failure develops suddenly and symptoms are initially severe. Acute heart failure either follows a heart attack that has caused damage to an area of your heart or, more frequently, is caused by a sudden lack of ability by the body to compensate for chronic heart failure.
If you develop acute heart failure, it may be severe initially but may only last for a brief time and improve rapidly. It usually requires therapy and administration of medication by injection (intravenously).