Bedside Ultrasound in the Emergency Department for Predicting Acute Heart Failure Outcomes

Acute heart failure is a common and serious condition that frequently brings patients to the emergency department. Emergency physicians need quick and reliable methods to evaluate the severity of the condition and monitor the response to initial treatment. This observational study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of bedside ultrasound (Point-of-Care Ultrasound or POCUS) in predicting clinical outcomes for these patients. Researchers will perform bedside ultrasound scans on adult patients presenting with acute heart failure. The scans will be performed twice: first upon admission to the emergency department, and again three hours after starting treatment. The ultrasound protocol will check the heart\'s pumping ability, look for fluid in the lungs, and measure specific veins (inferior vena cava and internal jugular vein) to assess fluid overload. The main goal of this study is to see if these ultrasound measurements can successfully predict important patient outcomes, including the likelihood of returning to the hospital within 30 days and 30-day survival.