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POCUS in Diagnosis: Acute Heart Failure

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Cardiopulmonary Point of Care Ultrasound

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Abstract

POCUS is a real game-changer for the diagnosis of acute heart failure (AHF). It is readily available at the bedside and provides crucial information for the management of patients. The cardiac evaluation, performed with the FoCUS approach (focus cardiac ultrasound) offers an immediate assessment of cardiac morphology and function, pericardial effusion and gross valvular abnormalities, which may rapidly indicate the main cause for decompensation. Lung ultrasound can be easily integrated to FoCUS to assess pulmonary congestion by sonographic B-lines and pleural effusion, thus suggesting the degree of decompensation. The portability of this tool, whose information can be readily used at the bedside, with minimal discomfort or risk for the patient, without using of contrast material or ionizing radiation, can significantly speed up the correct diagnosis and the decision-making process, making integrated cardiopulmonary POCUS the most versatile and cost-effective imaging approach for the evaluation of patients with acute cardiovascular conditions.

The most deadly disease truly is the failure of the heart

Oscar Arias–Former President of Costa Rica and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate (1987)

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Abbreviations

POCUS:

Point of care ultrasound

FoCUS:

Focuscardiac ultrasound

AHF:

Acute heart failure

EACVI:

European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging

HFpEF:

Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction

NPs:

Natriuretic peptides

LV:

Left ventricle

EF:

Ejection fraction

RV:

Right ventricle

LA:

Left atrium

IVC:

Inferior vena cava

MR:

Mitral regurgitation

AR:

Aortic regurgitation

PASP:

Pulmonary artery systolic pressure

HFrEF:

Heart failure with reduced ejection fraction

TDI:

Tissue Doppler imaging

LAVI:

Left atrial volume index

TR:

Tricuspid regurgitation

PCWP:

Pulmonary capillary wedge pressure

RVSP:

Right ventricular systolic pressure

RAP:

Right atrial pressure

LUS:

Lung ultrasound

CXR:

Chest X-ray

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Surgical, Medical and Molecular Pathology and Critical Care Medicine, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy

    Luna Gargani

  2. Department of Internal Medicine, University of Siena, Siena, Italy

    Alberto Palazzuoli

Authors
  1. Luna Gargani
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  2. Alberto Palazzuoli
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Correspondence to Luna Gargani .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anaesthetics and Critical Care, Royal Brompton and Harefield Hospitals, London, UK

    Hatem Soliman-Aboumarie

  2. Federal University of Health Sciences of Porto Alegre (UFCSPA), Porto Alegre, Brazil

    Marcelo Haertel Miglioranza

  3. Department of Surgical, Medical and Molecular Pathology and Critical Care Medicine, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy

    Luna Gargani

  4. San Luigi Gonzaga University Hospital, Orbassano, Italy

    Giovanni Volpicelli

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Gargani, L., Palazzuoli, A. (2023). POCUS in Diagnosis: Acute Heart Failure. In: Soliman-Aboumarie, H., Haertel Miglioranza, M., Gargani, L., Volpicelli, G. (eds) Cardiopulmonary Point of Care Ultrasound. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-29472-3_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-29472-3_7

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