ecg-trace-centre

Management of heart failure

The module will help you to formulate the key points to discuss with a patient prescribed treatment for heart failure. You will also be able to describe how you might identify patients who may have undiagnosed heart failure or who may require changes to their treatment due to a deterioration in symptom control.

Key facts

  • Over 1 million people in the UK are living with heart failure with around 200,000 new diagnoses every year
  • Heart failure is diagnosed by signs, symptoms and findings on an echocardiogram report for ejection fraction
  • Diuretics remain the mainstay of treatment for managing fluid congestion in all types of heart failure
  • Recent clinical trials provided a robust evidence base to improve prognosis in HFrEF through use of SGLT2 inhibitors (dapagliflozin and empagliflozin) in patients with heart failure both with and without type 2 diabetes.

Contributing author:  Alison Warren, consultant pharmacist, cardiology, Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust and Sussex ICS

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