Daily AncestorHeart failure
Heart failure on an old death certificate usually told how the person died, not why; the Census Bureau warned it often meant the real cause was unknown.
The 1911 Census Bureau manual put heart failure among the vague old terms doctors were dropping. It said heart failure was a recognized synonym, even among the public, for the doctor not knowing the cause, and that Connecticut law forbade it as a return.
Today heart failure also names a lasting weakness of the heart's pumping. On a record from before the 1930s, look to the contributory cause or the duration for clues.
As seen in a recordCause of death line, state death certificate, 1910s to 1930s
Cause: Heart failure. Contributory: Old age.
Sources
How to cite this page
Daily Ancestor. "Heart failure." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/causes-of-death/heart-failure. Last checked 2026-10-12.