Diagnosis of heart failure

Topic: Heart failure

Symptoms and signs

• Fatigue
• Dyspnoea
• Orthopnea
• Paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnoea 
• Exercise intolerance
• Pitting peripheral oedema ranging from the feet up to the trunk
• Hepatomegaly
• Ascites
• Symptoms of gut congestion
• Weight gain

Symptoms and signs typical of heart failure

 

Investigations

• Electrocardiography (ECG)
• Echocardiography
• NT-proBNP
• BNP

Diagnostic algorithm for a diagnosis of heart failure of non-acute onset

 

References

1. Piotr Ponikowski, Adriaan A Voors, Stefan D Anker, Héctor Bueno, John G F Cleland, Andrew J S Coats, Volkmar Falk, José Ramón González-Juanatey, Veli-Pekka Harjola, Ewa A Jankowska, Mariell Jessup, Cecilia Linde, Petros Nihoyannopoulos, John T Parissis, Burkert Pieske, Jillian P Riley, Giuseppe M C Rosano, Luis M Ruilope, Frank Ruschitzka, Frans H Rutten, Peter van der Meer, ESC Scientific Document Group, 2016 ESC Guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of acute and chronic heart failure: The Task Force for the diagnosis and treatment of acute and chronic heart failure of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC)
   Developed with the special contribution of the Heart Failure Association (HFA) of the ESC, European Heart Journal, Volume 37, Issue 27, 14 July 2016, Pages 2129–2200, https://doi.org/10.1093/eurheartj/ehw128