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Congestive heart failure

Prevalence
Causes
Clinical features
Differential diagnosis
Investigations
Therapy
Prevention
Prognosis
Clinical features

Ask about
  • coronary artery disease, particularly a previous myocardial infarction b  
  • previous episodes of congestive heart failure a  
  • orthopnoea b
  • dyspnoea on exertion b  
  • current medication and alcohol use d
Look for
  • tachycardia b  
  • hypotension or hypertension b  
  • dyspnoea b  
  • crackles on chest examination b  
  • oedema b  
  • an elevated jugular venous pressure b      
  • an abnormal abdominojugular reflex b     
  • an abnormal apical pulse a b  
  • a third heart sound b  
  • a gallop rhythm b  
Listen for heart murmurs
  • evidence of aortic stenosis b  
    • listen for a reduced or absent second heart sound, or a fourth heart sound
    • listen for a murmur loudest in late systole and radiating to the right carotid
  • evidence of mitral regurgitation b  
    • listen for a late or pansystolic murmur in the mitral area
    • listen for any increase on transient arterial occlusion.
  • evidence of aortic regurgitation
    • a decrescendo early diastolic murmur a  
    • a Flint murmur (low-pitched late diastolic apical murmur) c
    • listen for any increase on transient arterial occlusion c  

 

Expiry date: June 2003
Levels of Evidence used in grading these guides

Author   CM   Ball
Reviewer   B   Lee
CAT Writers   CM   Ball , CJ   Wotton , A   Yates