Recommended initial blood tests for elderly patients
with clinical suspicion of HF include complete blood
count; urinalysis; complete metabolic panel; lipid
profile and renal, liver, and thyroid function tests,
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primarily to rule out other comorbidities (Table 2).
Along with other clinicalfindings, plasma B-type
natriuretic peptide (BNP) levels have been a
valuable aid in evaluating elderly patients with
dyspnea.