Lin states that in Western diagnostic practice, heart failure is not viewed as a discrete illness, but is rather the final phase of a number of cardiac disorders. Its causes are many, including hypertension, arteriosclerotic cardiopathy, valvular disease and myocardial disease.
林宜信指出，在西醫診斷中，心臟衰竭不是一個獨立的疾病，是各種心臟疾病的最後階段，其原因很多包括高血壓性心臟病、冠狀動脈硬化性心臟病、瓣膜性心臟病、心肌病變等。