the diagnosis of congestive heart failure is most often a clinical one that is based on knowledge of the patient's pertinent medical history a careful physical examination and selected laboratory tests. a thorough patient history may disclose the presence of one or more of the symptoms of congestive heart failure described above. in addition a history of significant coronary artery disease prior heart attack hypertension diabetes or significant alcohol use can be clues. the physical examination is focused on detecting the presence of extra fluid in the body (breath sounds leg swelling or neck veins) as well as carefully characterizing the condition of the heart (pulse heart size heart sounds and murmurs). useful diagnostic tests include the electrocardiogram (ecg) and chest x-ray to detect previous heart attacks arrhythmia heart enlargement and fluid in and around the lungs. perhaps the single most useful diagnostic test is the echocardiogram in which ultrasound is used to image the heart muscle valve structures and blood flow patterns. the echocardiogram is very helpful in diagnosing heart muscle weakness. in addition the test can suggest possible causes for the heart muscle weakness (for example prior heart attack and severe valve abnormalities). virtually all patients in whom the diagnosis of congestive heart failure is suspected should ideally undergo echocardiography early in their assessment. nuclear medicine studies assess the overall pumping capability of the heart and examine the possibility of inadequate blood flow to the heart muscle. heart catheterization allows the arteries to the heart to be visualized with angiography (using dye inside of the blood vessels that can be seen using x-ray methods). during catheterization the pressures in and around the heart can be measured and the heart's performance assessed. in rare cases a biopsy of the heart tissue may be recommended to diagnose specific diseases. this biopsy can often be accomplished through the use of a special catheter device that is inserted into a vein and maneuvered into the right side of the heart. another helpful diagnostic test is a blood test called a bnp or brain natriuretic peptide level. this level can vary with age and gender but is typically elevated from heart failure and can aid in the diagnosis and can be useful in following the response to treatment of congestive heart failure. the choice of tests depends on each patient's case and is based on the suspected diagnoses.
how is congestive heart failure diagnosed?