title: [How to evaluate a patient with heart failure? Round table].
abstract: Evaluation of heart failure is the first step prior to introduction of an adapted therapeutic strategy. Three principal objectives must be defined: 1) identify the cause of heart failure, which may directly guide subsequent treatment (valvular heart disease, coronary artery disease, etc.); 2) evaluate the repercussions of heart failure on everyday life: evaluation of quality of life, severity of functional disorders and reduction of the everyday capacity. This evaluation is the most delicate as it is based on clinical interview: evaluation of the various NYHA stages lacks precision and reproducibility. The stress test with measurement of oxygen consumption appears to constitute an acceptable evaluation technique; 3) evaluation of the prognosis. Many studies have demonstrated precise relationships between life expectancy and a number of criteria, alteration of myocardial function, echocardiographic findings, ejection fraction, cardiac output and even an AP chest x-ray. Although statistically valid, these criteria have a limited application in individual patients. Evaluation of all these parameters is the most accurate way to predict the subsequent course of the disease which therefore allows a more accurate choice of treatment and subsequent evaluation of their efficacy.
authors.affiliation: Service de Cardiologie, Hôpital Boucicaut, Paris.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Guérot
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Desnos
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hagège
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Grenier
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Besse
mesh_terms: D006333:Heart Failure / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D006334:Heart Function Tests; D006801:Humans; D008722:Methods; D011379:Prognosis; D011788:Quality of Life