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Diagnosis of CHF — often a trap In Itself

University Hospital, Zurich, Switzerland, cardiotfl{at}compuserve.com

The increasing clinical burden of congestive heart failure (CHF) is exacerbated by our limited abilities in clinically identifying the various aetiologies of the condition, such as the differentiation between systolic and diastolic heart failure. This denies appropriate therapy to a substantial proportion of patients, particularly outside specialised centres, and can even lead to the use of potentially deleterious interventions.

The development of practically applicable definitions of the various types of CHF, combined with the rationalisation of diagnostic techniques, has helped both primary and secondary care physicians to target therapies appropriately to specific patient groups. This should reduce the number of misdiagnoses, thus minimising the proportion of patients falling through the net of effective CHF management, and thereby improving clinical outcomes and the quality-of-life of those affected.

Key Words: congestive heart failure • diagnosis

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Journal of Renin-Angiotensin-Aldosterone System, Vol. 1, No. 1 suppl, 7-11 (2000)
DOI: 10.3317/jraas.2000.032


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This Article Abstract Free Full Text (Free PDF) Free Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Lüscher, T. F Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Lüscher, T. F Pubmed/NCBI databases Medline Plus Health Information Heart Failure Social Bookmarking                         What's this?