Present possibilities for heart failure diagnosis in ambulatory care

The number of heart failure (HF) patients is steadily increasing over the past several years, not only due to the population aging, but also

due to the improvement in therapy of cardiovascular diseases. With regard to long-term seriousness of HF therapy and adverse prognosis

of it’s advanced stages, new trends in cardiology put the accent on early and appropriate diagnosis especially in the ambulatory care.

The diagnosis of HF has remained fundamentally unchanged over the past several decades and has been based on the clinical history

and physical examination. The recent progress in laboratory and imaging technology facilitated and put forward the HF diagnosis. One

of these new methods was the assessment of natriuretic peptides, which are synthesized and secreted by myocardium in response to

increased cardiac wall stress during HF. Important progress was made also in the technology of echocardiographic devices. However, the

difficulties remain in the costingness of for instance natriuretic peptide assessment or in the availability and image quality of examinations

such as echocardiography. The aim of this article is to describe the practical value of different diagnostic methods.

Keywords: heart failure, diagnosis, natriuretic peptides, ambulatory care.