Lesson 1Past cardiac history, prior heart failure, coronary disease, revascularization, arrhythmias, and hospitalizationsThis part go review how to get precise past heart history, including before heart failure, coronary disease, revascularization, arrhythmias, and hospital stays, to sharpen differential diagnosis, outlook, and treatment choices.
Documented heart failure diagnosisCoronary disease and prior MI detailsPCI, CABG, and other revascularizationHistory of atrial or ventricular arrhythmiasPrior cardiac and HF hospitalizationsBaseline LVEF and prior imagingLesson 2Associated symptoms: chest pain, palpitations, syncope, presyncope, fever, cough productive vs dryThis part go detail how to check chest pain, palpitations, fainting, near-fainting, and breathing or infection symptoms step by step, to separate heart from non-heart causes and spot urgent red flags.
Character and timing of chest painPalpitations pattern and triggersSyncope and presyncope red flagsFever, chills, and infection cluesCough type, sputum, and hemoptysisPleuritic versus pressure-like painLesson 3Onset, duration, and progression of breathlessness and recent precipitating eventsHere we go arrange questions on start, length, and worsening of breathlessness, plus recent triggers, to tell acute, subacute, chronic patterns and find causes like infection, poor blood flow, or not following meds.
Exact onset and time course of dyspneaStable, improving, or worsening patternTriggers: exertion, rest, or recumbencyRecent infections, fevers, or travelDietary or medication nonadherenceRecent surgery, trauma, or pregnancyLesson 4Exercise tolerance, daily activity changes, and weight gain patternWe go check how to assess exercise ability, daily activity shifts, and weight gain ways, using function history and recent patterns to measure fluid buildup, therapy response, and need to adjust water pills or other treatments.
Baseline versus current activity levelDyspnea with stairs or short walksRecent reduction in daily activitiesDaily weight monitoring practicesRapid weight gain and fluid retentionImpact on work and caregiving rolesLesson 5Social and functional status, support at home, ability to attend follow-up, and access to transport/emergency servicesThis part go guide checking social and function status, home help, follow-up ability, and access to transport or emergency services, to plan safe discharge, self-care, and extra community support.
Living situation and caregiver supportAbility to perform basic daily tasksHealth literacy and self-management skillsReliability of transport to follow-upAccess to pharmacy and emergency careFinancial or insurance constraintsLesson 6Fluid intake, salt intake, alcohol use, and recent medication changes or missed dosesHere we go focus on checking fluid and salt intake, alcohol use, and recent med changes or missed doses, to clear common triggers of acute worsening heart failure and guide patient teaching and advice.
Daily fluid volume and restrictionsDietary sodium sources and habitsAlcohol quantity, pattern, and bingesRecent new or stopped medicationsMissed doses of heart failure drugsPatient understanding of regimenLesson 7Medication adherence, over-the-counter drugs, complementary medicines, and recent NSAID or steroid useThis part go handle med sticking to plan, over-the-counter drugs, extra therapies, and recent NSAID or steroid use, pointing out things that worsen fluid hold, blood pressure, or kidney work in heart failure patients.
Barriers to taking prescribed medicinesUse of OTC cold and pain remediesRecent NSAID or COX-2 inhibitor useSystemic or inhaled steroid exposureHerbal and complementary productsPharmacy reconciliation and recordsLesson 8Comorbidities and risk factors: hypertension control, diabetes control, chronic lung disease, renal disease, and sleep apneaThis part go cover getting other illnesses and risks, like high blood pressure, diabetes, long lung sickness, kidney sickness, and sleep apnea, stressing control level and mixes that affect acute breath trouble and heart failure badness.
Hypertension history and control levelDiabetes duration and complicationsCOPD, asthma, and lung function historyChronic kidney disease stage and trendsScreening for sleep apnea symptomsObesity, smoking, and lipid profileLesson 9Orthopnea, paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea, and nocturnal cough detailsWe go look at targeted questions on orthopnea, sudden night breath trouble, and night cough, including start, how often, and position triggers, to separate heart failure from lung or airway night symptoms.
Number of pillows and sleep positionTiming and frequency of PND episodesNocturnal cough pattern and triggersRelief with sitting or standing upOverlap with reflux or asthma symptomsImpact on sleep quality and fatigueLesson 10Symptoms suggesting alternative diagnoses: unilateral leg pain/swelling, hemoptysis, fever, pleuritic chest pain, or neurologic signsWe go focus on symptoms pointing other diagnoses, like lung clot, pneumonia, lung collapse, or nerve events, teaching targeted questions to separate from main heart failure shows.
Unilateral leg pain or swelling historyPleuritic chest pain and PE suspicionFocal neurologic deficits or confusionHigh fever, rigors, and pneumonia cluesSudden onset dyspnea and pneumothoraxRed flags requiring urgent escalation
