Diagnostic confirmation of heart failure integrates clinical history and physical examination findings (dyspnea, peripheral edema, S3 gallop) with imaging and functional testing that characterize the severity, location, and mechanism of cardiac dysfunction. Chest radiography can reveal cardiac enlargement and pulmonary or pleural fluid accumulation (pulmonary edema, pleural effusion, lymphatic edema), reflecting the downstream congestive consequences of failure, while echocardiography quantifies ventricular size, wall motion, and ejection fraction to characterize the degree and laterality (left versus right ventricular) of dysfunction.
Diagnostic confirmation of heart failure integrates clinical history and physical examination findings (dyspnea, peripheral edema, S3 gallop) with imaging and functional testing that characterize the…