NICE has set new standards for hospitals to ensure people who have acute heart failure are seen by a specialist heart failure team within 24 hours of being admitted.
The standards include the use of echocardiography and early blood tests (natriuretic peptide testing) for diagnosis; the appropriate drug treatments that should be given; and the requirement for assessment by a specialist heart failure team within two weeks of discharge. www.nice.org.uk/guidance/qs103