How do you diagnose heart failure?
If your care team suspects you have heart failure, you’ll need a series of tests and monitoring to help determine the exact cause. Those tests include:
During a physical exam, a physician will listen to your heart and lungs, and review your blood pressure and weight. The clinical team will also ask you about your:
- Family medical history
- Lifestyle (for example, whether you smoke)
- Medications
- Personal medical history
- Symptoms
Part of the heart failure evaluation is a series of blood tests to check for problems with your heart or other organs. These tests measure:
- Sodium and potassium (electrolytes)
- Albumin (which helps determine how well your liver is working)
- Creatinine (which helps measure how well your kidneys are working)
- Other biomarkers that indicate heart failure
Echocardiography (echo) uses sound waves to create images of your heart. Echo can show how thick the heart muscle has become and how well the heart is pumping.
Echo is also used to measure ejection fraction (EF), the percentage of blood the left ventricle of the heart pumps out with every heartbeat. It is a sign of how well your heart is pumping out blood.
The normal, healthy range for EF measurement is 50 to 70 percent. EF higher or lower than normal can indicate an issue with your heart.
We use implantable and wearable remote monitoring devices to detect heart problems before you notice symptoms. The devices measure your heart’s rate, rhythm, electrical impulses, and other functions while you go about your day.
Our team uses devices that aren’t available at many other centers in the region. Remote monitoring devices can also be part of ongoing care when you’re living with heart failure.
Cardiovascular imaging tests
After considering your history, symptoms, blood test and echo results, your care team may suggest advanced diagnostic and cardiovascular imaging services.
Expertise in diagnosing heart failure
Accurate heart failure diagnosis requires a careful review of your history and symptoms, as well as advanced, accurate testing. When you come to Penn Medicine, you will find:
- Expert team: Our physicians, nurses, and cardiac imaging technicians are specially trained in heart failure and only treat patients with this condition. Their experience helps them see details others may miss.
- Advanced testing capabilities: We have the tools and expertise to evaluate your heart’s structure and function in fine detail, including options not available at other centers. Our program has access to advanced technologies like positron emission tomography (PET), pyrophosphate scans, and gene testing. These tools help us diagnose even subtle cases of heart failure and detect problems earlier.
- Comprehensive diagnosis: We take an active, thorough approach to testing, exploring all possible causes of heart failure and basing your diagnosis on the latest scientific evidence. This approach has helped thousands of people with heart failure.
- A vast network of specialists: Penn Medicine is an academic medical center with vast resources. If diagnostic tests for heart failure reveal other medical issues, we can quickly consult with any type of physician or surgeon you may need. The heart failure team coordinates your multispecialty care to make it seamless for you.
- Care close to home: Our heart failure specialists care for patients in Philadelphia and at satellite locations throughout the Philadelphia suburbs and Southern New Jersey. You don’t need to go far for an accurate diagnosis. Our heart failure specialists also participate in a shared care model for patients who live far away. When appropriate, your local cardiologist can do some testing and follow-up care.
- Genetic counseling and support: Genetic causes of heart failure can affect your treatment plan and other family members. We work with dedicated genetic counselors who can determine what genetic testing you and your relatives may need.