The Practitioner
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The typical presentation of heart failure in primary care is insidious, with progressive breathlessness on exertion, ankle swelling, orthopnoea or paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnoea. Not all patients will have all these symptoms, and in many patients there may be other causes. If a GP suspects heart failure, then the key blood test is B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP). ⋯ ACE inhibitors (or angiotensin receptor blockers) and beta-blockers licensed for heart failure (carvedilol, bisoprolol, nebivolol) remain the mainstay of treatment in addition to as small a dose of diuretic as possible to control any fluid retention. Aldosterone antagonism is recommended by the 2012 ESC guidance for all patients who remain symptomatic despite an ACE inhibitor and beta-blocker. If the rhythm is sinus but the heart rate is 75 beats per minute, therapy needs to be optimised, perhaps by increasing the beta-blocker dose, if possible, or by the addition of ivabradine.