One of a set of four heart failure top tips for GPs postcards. The full set is: 1 - diagnosis 2 - up-titration of drugs in heart failure 3 - managing heart failure patients 4 - a crash course in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction

1. HF Top Tips 4 Dec2011:Layout 1 9/1/12 09:15 Page 1
NHS
NHS Improvement
Heart
Heart Failure
CANCER Top Tips for GPs
www.improvement.nhs.uk/
DIAGNOSTICS
heart/heartfailure
HEART
LUNG
STROKE

2. HF Top Tips 4 Dec2011:Layout 1 9/1/12 09:15 Page 2
1 Top Tips for GPs - ONE
Spotting heart failure
NHS
NHS Improvement
Think about heart failure in a patient presenting with…
1.
2.
3.
A history of ischemic heart disease
Atrial fibrillation
The chest infection that isn't getting any better
Heart
4. COPD that is deteriorating more than it should and
5. Late onset asthma (is it?)
6. ‘Always putting things down to their age’
7. Breathlessness in diabetic or hypertensive patients
Then...
8. Use Serum Natriuretic Peptides either BNP or
NT proBNP and refer if raised
9. Don't start an ACE inhibitor before echo and
specialist assessment
10. …but diuretics are fine
Ideally, don’t just refer for an echo but a rapid
assessment heart failure service, which includes an
echo and a specialist opinion.