Congestive heart failure (CHF) is a chronic condition where the heart doesn’t pump blood as well as it should. Because your heart isn’t pumping efficiently, it will become congested, or backed up over time as blood is returning faster to the heart than it can be pumped out to the rest of the body. This means that not enough oxygen-rich blood can get to the body’s other organs and you can start to get blood and fluid buildup inside your lungs and abdomen. In the early stages of CHF, you most likely won’t notice many symptoms. As your condition progresses you may experience fatigue, swelling, irregular heartbeat, chest pain, fainting and difficulty breathing. People with artery disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and obesity are at a higher risk for developing CHF.