Updated May 17, 2006

Congestive Heart Failure (CHF)

A person with mild heart failure can continue to perform most activities without difficulty, but severe CHF may require a heart transplant. Early diagnosis is the key to slowing the progression of the disease. Often, a doctor can diagnose heart failure by taking a person’s medical history and blood pressure and performing a physical exam with a stethoscope. To determine the cause and extent of the symptoms and the best treatment, the doctor may also recommend x-rays; blood tests; an electrocardiogram (ECG) test, which records the electrical activity of the heart; or an echocardiogram test, which uses sound waves to produce a video image of the heart.

This article was written by Robert S. Dinsmoor, a Contributing Editor of Diabetes Self-Management.

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