Health
Clinical assessment can detect advanced heart failure
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted Oct. 13, 2008
A history and physical can be as accurate as invasive testing at assessing significant heart failure, according to a study in the September Circulation: Heart Failure.
Researchers randomized 388 heart failure patients to receive hemodynamic monitoring by pulmonary artery catheter or clinical assessment. The invasive procedure did not improve outcomes after six months.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2008/10/13/hlbf1013.htm.