<s>[INST] How is heart failure diagnosed? [/INST] We use a variety of techniques to diagnose heart failure and determine what kind of heart failure you have.

Blood tests help us measure different markers in your body that could point toward heart failure or some other condition. They help us understand how your thyroid, kidney and liver are functioning, in addition to your heart.

We may also use imaging tests, like echocardiograms, chest X-rays, and cardiac MRIs. These give us a direct look at your heart, helping us rule out other conditions. If we see fluid buildup and swelling in and around your heart, that’s often a telltale sign of heart failure. Here, your heart is enlarging to try to compensate for its weakened function.

During diagnosis, we not only try to determine whether you have heart failure but also what’s causing it. If tests show that another condition may be affecting your heart, like coronary artery disease or atrial fibrillation (AFib), that information helps determine how we treat your heart failure. Source: HEALTH PARTNERS. Link: https://www.healthpartners.com/blog/ask-a-cardiologist-answering-critical-questions-about-heart-failure/. Field: Cardiovascular. Disease: Heart Failure </s>