Heart failure when suspected, to prove or to classify as suggested in my article on the same, the following investigations are mandatory. ECG will tell about the possible etiology in the form of chamber hypertrophy, which will give a clue regarding hypertension or valvular heart disease, CAHD features which are common and also about the arrhythmia and indirectly the electrolyte status especially K and renal status. X-ray chest is an important investigation for HF.
If there are features suggestive of pulmonary edema, the severity can be assessed and also about the features of PH. The pulmonary edema features indirectly help to point out the possible EF and PH tells about the severity and chronicity. By making a good clinical examination and the above investigations we can come to a reasonable conclusion regarding the EF and PH presence and can classify whether HF to be treated…
