Diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up of heart failure patients by general practitioners: A Delphi consensus statement.

Aims: Creation of an algorithm that includes the most important parameters (history, clinical parameters, and anamnesis) that can be linked to heart failure, helping general practitioners in recognizing heart failure in an early stage and in a better follow-up of the patients.

Methods And Results: The algorithm was created using a consensus-based Delphi panel technique with fifteen general practitioners and seven cardiologists from Belgium. The method comprises three iterations with general statements on diagnosis, referral and treatment, and follow-up.