Which of the following is a cause of systolic heart failure?

Systolic heart failure, characterized by the heart's reduced ability to contract and pump blood effectively, can arise from various underlying conditions. Coronary artery disease (CAD) is a primary cause of systolic heart failure. This disease leads to ischemic heart conditions, where the heart muscle receives inadequate blood supply due to narrowed or blocked coronary arteries. As a result, the heart muscle can become weakened over time, impairing its ability to contract and pump efficiently, which is a hallmark of systolic dysfunction.

In the context of the other choices, while hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, chronic hypertension, and valvular heart disease can also contribute to heart failure, they often relate more to diastolic dysfunction or mixed forms of heart failure. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy primarily affects the filling of the heart due to the thickened heart muscle. Chronic hypertension increases the workload on the heart, leading to left ventricular hypertrophy, which can transition to heart failure but is not exclusively a cause of systolic failure. Valvular heart disease, depending on the type of valve involved and whether it results in stenosis or regurgitation, can contribute to heart failure but does not inherently cause systolic dysfunction as directly as CAD does. Hence, coronary artery