Emergency: requires immediate attention
Congestive heart failure
Alerts and Notices
Synopsis

Acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) in the crashing patient:
- Airway / Breathing: Often, positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) is required via a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) or bilevel positive airway pressure (BiPAP) machine for increased work of breathing, hypoxia, or evidence of pulmonary edema on examination or imaging.
- Circulation: Often, the patient presents as hypertensive (> 180/110); use aggressive vasodilators such as sublingual nitroglycerin (NTG) (paste takes 30 minutes to onset) or an NTG drip.
Diagnosis Overview:
Heart failure (HF) is a clinical syndrome caused by any structural or functional cardiac impairment leading to the inability of the heart to pump enough blood to meet the body's demand. HF presents with fatigue, dyspnea on exertion, orthopnea, and fluid retention (peripherally or pulmonary).
Symptoms may include not being able to walk as far as previously; needing to sleep on more pillows; waking up from sleep gasping (paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea); clothes or shoes feeling tighter; nonproductive cough, especially when lying flat; and early satiety. HF is broken down into the following classifications:
- Reduced ejection fraction (EF):
- HF with reduced EF (HFrEF): systolic heart failure (left ventricular ejection fraction [LVEF] 40% or below)
- HF with improved EF (HFimpEF): previous HFrEF on therapy and LVEF 40% or above
- Mid-range EF:
- HF with mildly reduced EF or mid-range EF (HFmrEF): HF with LVEF between 40% and 50%
- Requires serial monitoring to project trajectory over time and further objective measures
- Impaired ventricular filling:
- HF with preserved EF (HFpEF): diastolic heart failure (LVEF 50% or above)
- At least 50% of cases and prevalence is increasing
- Stage A: at risk for HF
- Stage B: pre-HF
- Stage C: symptomatic HF
- State D: advanced HF
- Characterizes symptoms and functional capacity of symptomatic and advanced HF
- Independent predictor of mortality
- Class 1: no limitation of physical activity
- Class 2: slight limitation of physical activity
- Class 3: marked limitation of physical activity
- Class 4: symptoms with rest; discomfort with any activity
Other causes:
- Ischemic heart disease
- Valvular dysfunction, arrythmias, right ventricular (RV) pacing, cardiomyopathies (ie, familial, genetic, postpartum), infection and inflammation (eg, myocarditis, HIV, COVID-19, Chagas disease), thyroid disease, autoimmune diseases (eg, sarcoidosis, amyloidosis), hemochromatosis, cardiotoxic medications (eg, chemotherapy)
- New annual diagnosis: approximately 500 000 patients per year.
- Mortality: approximately 300 000 individuals per year.
- Self-identified non-Hispanic Black patients have highest incidence of HF hospitalizations and mortality.
- Incidence is proportional to age and is higher in men, as women present later.
- Lifetime risk of development is approximately 20% in those 40 years and older.
- Survival median time once classified as NYHA class 3 is 1.7 years for men and 3.2 years for women, with a 5-year survival rate of 25% and 38%, respectively.
Codes
ICD10CM:I50.9 – Heart failure, unspecified
SNOMEDCT:
42343007 – Congestive heart failure
Look For
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Diagnostic Pearls
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Differential Diagnosis & Pitfalls
- Dyspnea:
- Noncardiogenic pulmonary edema
- Acute respiratory distress syndrome
- Pulmonary embolism
- Acute coronary syndrome
- Cardiac tamponade
- Tachyarrhythmias
- Acute valvular dysfunction
- Cardiomyopathies
- Myxedema or thyrotoxicosis
- Anemia
- Flash pulmonary edema from other causes: hypertensive emergency, post-opioid respiratory arrest resuscitation, drowning
- Cirrhosis
- Goodpasture syndrome
Best Tests
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Management Pearls
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Therapy
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Drug Reaction Data
Below is a list of drugs with literature evidence indicating an adverse association with this diagnosis. The list is continually updated through ongoing research and new medication approvals. Click on Citations to sort by number of citations or click on Medication to sort the medications alphabetically.Subscription Required
References
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Last Reviewed:08/31/2022
Last Updated:11/29/2022
Last Updated:11/29/2022
Emergency: requires immediate attention
Congestive heart failure
