Heart failure (HF) is a multisystemic disorder characterized by marked disturbances in the physiology of the circulatory system and a multitude of structural and functional changes in the myocardium that adversely affect the systolic function and diastolic filling of the heart. Heart failure is not a single pathologic diagnosis, but a clinical syndrome consisting of cardiac symptoms (eg, dyspnea, edema of the lower extremities, and fatigue) that may be accompanied by signs (eg, increased jugular venous pressure and peripheral edema).The diagnosis of CKD becomes more likely in patients with a history of myocardial infarction (MI), arterial hypertension, coronary artery disease (CHD), diabetes mellitus, alcohol abuse, chronic kidney disease (CKD), cardiotoxic chemotherapy, and in patients with a family history of cardiomyopathy or of sudden death. The diagnosis of HF requires the presence of HF symptoms and/or signs and objective evidence of cardiac dysfunction.
The main symptoms of HF are symptoms such as shortness of breath at rest or during exercise, difficulty breathing (dyspnea), rapid breathing (tachypnea), difficulty breathing when bending over (bendopnea), orthopnea, paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea, fatigue , weight gain or weight loss, swelling (of the extremities, scrotum or elsewhere), wheezing, palpitations, syncope, history of Cheyne Stokes breathing during sleep (often reported by the family rather than the patient), cough, drowsiness.
The simplest terminology used to describe HF severity is the New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional classification based on symptom severity and physical activity.
In Greece, it is estimated that the number of patients suffering from HF is 200,000.
In the vast majority of cases, transthoracic echocardiography is the initial cardiac imaging test used to evaluate patients with newly diagnosed or suspected heart failure. Echocardiography is particularly suitable for the evaluation of myocardial structure and function, valvular function and hemodynamic parameters .