Diagnosis and Tests for Heart Failure

  • Heart Failure
    Heart Failure is a commonly seen condition amongst our aging population. In spite of advanced therapeutic science, incidence rates continue to increase. Life expectancy of patients with Heart Failure can be improved with lifestyle changes and compliance with their treatment plan. Mumbai-based cardiologist, Dr Nihar Mehta explains Heart Failure comprehensively.
Submitted by PatientsEngage on 11 December 2021
Stock pic that says heart failure and shows a stethoscope and some meds

How is Heart Failure diagnosed?

Heart failure is a clinical diagnosis. The doctor will take into account the symptoms and risk factors and correlate those with clinical examination findings of heart rate, blood pressure, pressure wave forms of the venous pulse (JVP), chest and cardiac examination and examination of your abdomen and limbs.

If the diagnosis of heart failure is suspected, certain blood tests like BNP ( B-type Natriuretic Peptide), NT-ProBNP (N Terminal B-type Natriuretic Peptide) or ST-2 Levels can help to confirm the diagnosis. Other useful tests include cardiac enzymes, electrocardiogram, echocardiography, chest X-rays and other blood tests.

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Heart Failure

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  • Stock pic that says heart failure and shows a stethoscope and some meds
    Risk Factors of Heart Failure
    What are the risk factors associated with heart failure? Patients prone to heart diseases are all prone to heart failure as well. This includes patients with high blood pressure, diabetes mellitus, high cholesterol, smoking, alcohol consumption, stress, family history of heart attacks, heart valve diseases, arrhythmias, renal failure, anemia, thyroid diseases, etc. Rarely, the heart can be affected by congenital heart disease from birth, diseases of the heart muscle (cardiomyopathy), infections…
  • Stock pic that says heart failure and shows a stethoscope and some meds
    Signs and Symptoms of Heart Failure
    What are the symptoms or signs of heart failure? The main symptom of heart failure is shortness of breath. Often it is a feeling of choking or discomfort in breathing. An important symptom is that the breathlessness is more in lying down posture and is often relieved in sitting up position. This is occasionally accompanied with coughing (usually with minimal sputum) and rarely with blood tinged frothy cough. Often patients have subtle signs to start with such as fatigue and tiredness while…
  • Stock pic that says heart failure and shows a stethoscope and some meds
    Types and Stages of Heart Failure
    What is ejection fraction (EF)? Why is it important to know your EF number and what it means? Ejection fraction refers to the Pumping Power of your heart. It is normally 55-60%. It is important to know what is the pumping power of your heart since reduced pumping power or ejection fraction implies that your heart is diseased and increases the risk for congestive heart failure. Are there different types of heart failure? Heart failure most often occurs due to reduced ejection fraction – called…
  • Stock pic that says heart failure and shows a stethoscope and some meds
    Heart Failure: An overview
    What is Heart Failure (HF)? Is it the same as congestive heart failure? Heart Failure refers to the inability of the heart to function normally. About 8-10 million patients in India are estimated to be suffering from Heart failure – about 1% of the adult population. A common misconception is that heart failure means that the heart stops beating. In fact, it means that the heart cannot pump blood adequately for circulating throughout the body. Since the blood flow to all the organs in our body…