Clinical Diagnosis in Heart Failure

A contemporary review of the diagnosis of heart failure as part of a special heart failure issue. The 2016 ESC heart failure guidelines have provided updated evidence-based recommendations for the clinical diagnosis of heart failure. This article summarises the diagnostic process in the case of a patient presenting with acute dyspnoea and suspected acute heart failure, and summarises the diagnostic elements that should be assessed in a patient with non-acute onset. The role of clinical and laboratory testing is discussed