This site is intended for healthcare professionals

account_circleSign in
Go to /sign-in page

You can view 5 more pages before signing in

Clinical features of left ventricular failure

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

Authoring team

Possible symptoms:

  • exertional dyspnoea - this precedes orthopnoea and paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnoea
  • orthopnoea
  • paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnoea
  • fatigue
  • symptoms secondary to pulmonary oedema e.g. cough (sometimes with pink froth), haemoptysis, wheeze (cardiac asthma)

Most common signs:

  • tachycardia
  • basal crackles (the worse the heart failure the more widespread the crackles). If these are found then the examiner should ask the patient to cough so to confirm that they are not resolved and thus do represent pulmonary oedema.
  • gallup rhythm - a third heart sound and/or a fourth heart sound

Less common signs:

  • tachypnoea
  • cardiomegaly
  • peripheral cyanosis
  • pleural effusion
  • pulsus alternans (alternating of large and small pulse pressures)

Related pages

Create an account to add page annotations

Create a free account

Add information to this page that would be handy to have on hand during a consultation, such as a web address or phone number. This information will always be displayed when you visit this page