Diagnostic value of patterns of symptoms and signs of heart failure: application of latent class analysis with concomitant variables in a cross-sectional study

摘要

ObjectiveThe diagnosis of heart failure (HF) requires a compatible clinical syndrome and demonstration of cardiac dysfunction by imaging or functional tests. Since individual symptoms and signs are generally unreliable and have limited value for diagnosing HF, the authors aimed to identify patterns of symptoms and signs, based on findings routinely collected in current clinical practice, and to evaluate their diagnostic value, taking into account the a priori likelihood of HF.