Assessment of The Clinical Course of Dyspnea in Acute Heart Failure Patients
Assessment of The Clinical Course of Dyspnea in Acute Heart Failure Patients
Acute heart failure (AHF) is defined as a gradual or rapid change in heart failure (HF) signs
 and symptoms, such as shortness of breath (also called dyspnea or breathlessness), leg
 swelling, fatigue, breathlessness with exertion, trouble sleeping flat at night, and weight
 gain resulting in a need for urgent therapy. AHF results in over 1 million hospitalizations
 every year, resulting in an enormous public health burden. Approximately 1/3rd of patients
 will either be re-hospitalized or die within three months, and the resultant financial costs
 are large. As such, improving outcomes for AHF patients is critically important. Shortness of
 breath is the most common reason why patients with AHF present to the ER. As such,
 understanding how severe this symptom is, how much it improves with current treatments is
 very important to both patients and physicians. The purpose of this study is to determine the
 degree to which your shortness of breath improves during the first few days of
 hospitalization and its association with how fast you are breathing.
Inclusion Criteria:

 -  Male or female ≥ 18 years of age

 -  AHFS is the primary working diagnosis for ER management and treatment with planned
 admission

 -  Have received IV diuretic therapy

 -  Enrolled within 3 hours of initial diuretic dose

 Exclusion Criteria:

 -  BNP level is ≤ 300 pg/mL (may be initially enrolled and then will be excluded for
 second assessment)

 -  Transplant recipients of any kind

 -  Fever > 101.5

 -  Severe lung disease (required home O2 or daily oral steroids)

 -  Any ACS event within last 30 days

 -  Life expectancy less than 12 months for any reason

 -  Current treatment for any malignancy of any kind

 -  Cardiogenic shock and/or requiring IV inotropic therapy

 -  Pregnant or recently pregnant within last 90 days

 -  Inability to give appropriate written consent