New appropriateness criteria published by the American College of Cardiology Foundation (ACCF) and the American College of Radiology (ACR) offer guidance on the use of cardiovascular imaging in heart failure patients, addressing several specific clinical scenarios.
The 2013 Appropriate Utilization of Cardiovascular Imaging in Heart Failure guidelines examine five key clinical situations in which physicians use imaging tests for patients with suspected, incompletely characterized, or known heart failure, wrote Dr. Manesh Patel, Dr. Richard White, and colleagues (Journal of the American College of Cardiology, April 23, 2013).
The scenarios covered are common but do not include every conceivable situation; as such, they can be expected to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of care, but they are not intended to replace clinical decision-making or substitute for sound judgment and practice experience, the authors wrote. The ACR and ACCF support personalized patient care that aims to utilize diagnostic and therapeutic approaches to meet the specific needs of each patient, they also noted.
The guidelines focus on the following clinical scenarios:
- New or suspected potential heart failure
- Heart failure associated with myocardial infarction
- Heart failure assessment for revascularization planning
- Device therapy consideration and follow-up
- Repeat evaluation of heart failure
The guidelines were created in an environment of rapidly evolving patient care and technology and will need to be updated regularly, the team wrote.
