Which condition is characterized by the heart's inability to pump enough blood to meet the body's needs, often with reduced ejection fraction?

• A. Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction
• B. Heart failure (systolic heart failure)
• C. Cardiac tamponade
• D. Atrial fibrillation

Answer: (B)

The key idea is that the heart’s ability to contract and eject enough blood is impaired. In systolic heart failure, the ventricle doesn’t contract forcefully enough, so the amount of blood pumped with each beat (the stroke volume) is reduced and the ejection fraction falls below normal. Because less blood is ejected, cardiac output drops, leading to symptoms of heart failure.

This differs from heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, where the ejection fraction stays normal but filling is impaired; cardiac tamponade is a mechanical problem that limits filling from outside the heart; and atrial fibrillation is an irregular rhythm that can lower output but isn’t defined by a reduced ejection fraction.