Improving Diagnostic Accuracy for Acute Heart Failure

Acute heart failure is a common reason for emergency department visits and hospitalization, but the diagnosis can be challenging because of non-specific symptoms and signs. The current diagnostic approach to acute heart failure has modest accuracy, leading to delayed diagnosis and treatment, which associate with worse prognosis. Prior work suggests diagnostic accuracy can be improved with the addition of multiple circulating biomarkers discovered through proteomics, and this study will derive and validate a multi-marker model to improve diagnostic accuracy for acute heart failure in the emergency department.

For enrollment into the prospective cohort for Outcome 3. Inclusion Criteria: 1. Willing to adhere to the study protocol 2. Able to provide written consent 3. English or Spanish speaking 4. Adult, defined as 18 years or older 5. Primary reason for presentation to the ED is dyspnea 6. ED physician is considering a diagnosis of HF, defined by ordering a NP test and/or a chest x-ray Exclusion Criteria: 1. History of end-stage renal disease for which hemodialysis is needed 2. Dyspnea due to primary presentation of an acute coronary syndrome or trauma