A plea for an early ultrasound-clinical integrated approach in patients with acute heart failure. A proactive comment on the ESC Guidelines on Heart Failure 2016

A multi-organ integrated clinical-ultrasound approach should be advocated as part of the clinical-diagnostic workup at AHF very early phase. Whenever competence and technology available, bedside ultrasound, along with clinical and biochemical assessment, should target AHF profiling, identify the cause of AHF, and subsequently aid disease course and response to treatment monitoring.