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A new international expert consensus document from leading cardiology groups offers an update on the definition of heart failure, taking into consideration advances in diagnosis and clinical understanding of the disease, as published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. While the statement isn’t a clinical practice guideline—and does not include treatment recommendations—it aims to clarify the definition and adopt it universally. For urgent care clinicians, the most relevant point is that heart failure is a clinical syndrome based on symptoms, physical examination findings, biomarkers, and imaging rather than reliance on a single diagnostic test. Some patients—particularly those with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction—may have normal natriuretic peptide levels despite heart failure, so physicians should rely on their clinical judgment.
Look sharp: The consensus also highlights common heart failure mimics—including chronic kidney disease, pregnancy, obesity, deconditioning, and coronary artery disease—that should be considered when evaluating patients with dyspnea or peripheral edema.
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