• Course
  • EL2

1 hour

GPs,GP trainees

Step by step: A guide to diagnosing heart failure

This module offers a practical, step by step guide for GPs on making a diagnosis of heart failure when a patient presents with suggestive symptoms in primary care. It covers how to spot the diagnosis, ruling out important differential diagnoses, what tests to request in primary care, and when to refer your patient for an echocardiogram and to a specialist team to confirm the diagnosis.

Learning outcomes

After completing this module, you should know:

  • When to suspect a diagnosis of chronic heart failure, especially in patients with complicating comorbidities
  • How to rule out alternative diagnoses to heart failure
  • When to measure natriuretic peptides to determine which patients need echocardiography and referral for a specialist opinion
  • How to respond to a patient’s echocardiography report and the opinion of a specialist with confidence.

Written by:

Nigel Rowell

Peer reviewed by:

 Fahad Farooqi, Abdallah Al-Mohammad

Last updated

24 Oct 2018

Release date

26 Aug 2015

Accreditation

Accreditor credit Accreditation statement
ASCOFAME 1:00 hour BMJ Learning has assigned 1 hour of CPD/CME credit to this module. BMJ Learning modules are being certified for ASCOFAME VIRTUAL (Colombia).
Australian College of Nursing 1 credit, 1:00 hour ACN 3LP participants can claim 1 CNE point per hour of active learning for modules that are directly related to their area of nursing practice (no limit).
Austrian Academy of Physicians 1 credit, 1:00 hour BMJ Learning modules have been certified for DFT Punkte. DFT Punkte are accepted in Austria
Azerbaijan: The Scientific-Medical Council of the Ministry of Health of Azerbaijan Republic 1 credit, 1:00 hour The Scientific-Medical Council of the Ministry of Health of Azerbaijan Republic has formally accredited all BMJ Learning modules for medical doctor`s continuous professional development. Completion of one module is considered as the equivalent of 1 credit or 1 hour of learning.
BMJ Learning 1 credit, 1:00 hour BMJ Learning has assigned one hour of credit to this module
Bahrain Defence Force Hospital 1 credit, 1:00 hour The Bahrain Defence Force Military Hospital represented by the Ministry of Defence Bahrain recognises BMJ Learning as being accredited for the purpose of continuous medical education (CME)/continuous professional development (CPD) in BDF. Healthcare professionals can thus claim continuous professional development credits for their activity in BMJ Learning. Completion of one module is considered the equivalent of one credit or one hour of learning.
Bhutan Medical and Health Council 1 credit, 1:00 hour Bhutan Medical and Health Council has formally accredited all BMJ Learning online modules for continuous professional development. Bhutan Medical and Health Council will accept the CME credit provided by BMJ Learning to any registered members of Bhutan Medical and Health Council for renewal of their registration.
Delhi Medical Council 1 credit, 1:00 hour The Delhi Medical Council recognises BMJ Learning as being accredited for the purpose of continuous medical education (CME)/continuous professional development (CPD). Doctors can thus claim continuous professional development credits for their activity in BMJ Learning. Completion of one module is considered the equivalent of 1 credit or 1 hour of learning.
Dubai Health Authority 1 credit, 1:00 hour BMJ Learning is approved as a CME resource by the Dubai Health Authority (accreditation number 0013/18)
Iraqi Ministry of Health 1 credit, 1:00 hour The Iraq Ministry of Health has accredited BMJ Learning for the purposes of CME. One module is the equivalent of one hour or one credit point.
Kuwait Institute for Medical Specialization 1 credit, 1:00 hour Kuwait Institute for Medical Specialization (KIMS) of the Ministry of Health, State of Kuwait is the authority responsible for organising all aspects of postgraduate training of medical practitioners and other health professionals in Kuwait. Users within Kuwait can claim one hour or one credit per hour of learning completed.
Lam Dong Medical College 1 credit, 1:00 hour This is to state that Lam Dong Medical College recognises BMJ Learning as being accredited for the purposes of continuing professional development in Vietnam. Healthcare professionals and doctors can claim continuing professional development credits for their activity on BMJ Learning.
Oman Medical Specialty Board 0.5 credits The Oman Medical Specialty Board accredits this module for 0.5 credit points under Category II
Pakistan Society of Family Physicians 1 credit, 1:00 hour The Pakistan Society of Family Physicians has assigned 1 hour of credit to this module.
Royal Australasian College of Physicians 1:00 hour The RACP does not accredit CPD activities, but MyCPD Program guidelines state that fellows can claim a maximum of 50 credits per year for online learning under 'Category 6 - Other Learning Activities'.
Swiss Society of General Internal Medicine 1 credit, 1:00 hour The Swiss Society of General Internal Medicine has accredited BMJ Learning for the purpose of CPD.
The Colleges of Medicine of South Africa 3 credits The Colleges of Medicine of South Africa has accredited this BMJ Learning module (accreditation number: MDB014/254/06/2010)
The Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from Occupied Territories, Health, Labour and Social Affairs of Georgia 1 credit, 1:00 hour The Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from Occupied Territories, Health, Labour and Social Affairs of Georgia has assigned 1 hour of CPD/CME credit to this module.
The Ministry of Public Health in Qatar 1 credit, 1:00 hour The Ministry of Public Health in Qatar represented by the Accreditation Department of the Qatar Council for Health Practitioners recognizes the continuous medical education (CME)/continuing professional development (CPD) modules provided through BMJ Learning as Category II self-directed learning activities in the State of Qatar. Healthcare professionals in Qatar can thus claim continuing professional development credits for their activity on BMJ Learning, calculated as 1 credit unit per 1 hour (Organization Code OP-02).
The Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners 1 credit, 1:00 hour RNZCGP endorses the British Medical Journal online CME programmes
The University of Conakry 1 credit, 1:00 hour This is to state that the University of Conakry recognizes BMJ Learning resources as being accredited for the purposes of continuing professional development in Guinea. Doctors can thus claim continuing professional development credits for their activity on BMJ.
Trinidad and Tobago Medical Association 0.5 credits, 1:00 hour The Trinidad and Tobago Medical Association has accredited BMJ Learning. One module equates to 0.5 credits.
UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention 1 credit, 1:00 hour This Program has been awarded 1 CPD Credit Hour by the UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention.
Ukrainian Ministry of Health 1 credit, 1:00 hour The Ukrainian Ministry of Health has assigned 1 hour of CPD/CME credit to this module.
University of Health Sciences Lahore 1 credit, 1:00 hour University of Health Sciences Lahore has assigned 1 hour of credit to this module.