Diastolic heart failure diagnosis

Zile MR Diastolic heart failure Diagnosis, prognosis, treatment. Minerva Cardiol 2003 51 131-142. 

Gutierrez C, Blanchard DG. Diastolic heart failure challenges of diagnosis and treatment. Am Fam Physician. 2004 69 2609-2616. 

Zile MR, Brutsaert DL. New concepts in diastolic dysfunction and diastolic heart failure Part I diagnosis, prognosis, and measurements of diastolic function. Circulation 2002 105 1387-1393. 

The diagnosis of diastolic heart failure can be made when a patient has (1) both symptoms and signs on physical examination of congestive heartfailure and (2) preserved left ventricular (LV) function. 

Heart failure is a progressive syndrome, and optimal pharmacologic management is based on a detailed diagnosis, determination of the etiology, characterization of the clinical syndrome (systolic vs. diastolic) and careful monitoring of the response to pharmacologic therapy. There is a need to modify treatment in accordance with the patient s response to therapy. 

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