Five comparisons that settle the most common HF confusions — built to read on phone and iPad.
Left / pulmonary pattern
Right / systemic venous pattern
HFrEF
HFpEF
Guideline note
ESC 2026 removed HFmrEF and uses a 50% operational cut-off. The 2026 Second Universal Definition emphasises reduced/preserved/improved categories without one universal number. Name the framework (older resources use ≤40% and HFmrEF 41–49%).
Congestion (“wet”)
Hypoperfusion (“cold”)
Compensated / stable
Decompensated
ESC 2026 wording
The 2026 ESC update prefers “decompensated HF” over “acute HF” as the umbrella wording.
Preload
Afterload
