Heart failure
Adult

Cardiology

Useful Management Information

Minimum Referral Criteria

Does your patient meet the minimum referral criteria?
Category 1 (appointment within 30 calendar days)
  • Newly diagnosed NYHA Class III heart failure with worsening symptoms but without any of the following concerning features
    • NYHA Class IV heart failure
    • Ongoing chest pain
    • Increasing shortness of breath
    • Significant orthopnoea/PND
    • Oxygen saturation < 90%
    • Clinical and/or radiographic signs of acute pulmonary oedema
    • Haemodynamic instability:
      • pre-syncope / syncope / severe dizziness
      • altered level of consciousness
      • heart rate > 120 beats per minute
      • systolic BP < 90mmHg
  • Significant pulmonary or pedal oedema
    • Recent myocardial infarction (within 2 weeks)
    • Pregnant patient
    • Signs of myocarditis
    • Signs of acute decompensated heart failure
  • Established heart failure on medical therapy with clinical signs of decompensation, but without concerning features
Category 2 (appointment within 90 calendar days)
  • Established heart failure on medical therapy with worsening symptoms but without clinical signs of decompensation or concerning features
  • Suspected or newly diagnosed left ventricular dysfunction with minimal/no symptoms or clinical evidence of decompensation
Category 3 (appointment within 365 calendar days)
  • Patients with established heart failure on optimal medical therapy requiring routine review i.e., take-over of care
  • If the patient does not meet the criteria for referral but the referring practitioner believes the patient requires specialist review, a clinical override may be requested:
    • Please explain why (e.g. warning signs or symptoms, clinical modifiers, uncertain about diagnosis, etc.)
  • Please note that your referral may not be accepted or may be redirected to another service.

Essential Referral Information

  • BP
  • Weight, height & BMI
  • Recent fluctuations in weight indicative of cardiac dysfunction (if known)
  • New York Heart Association (NYHA ) class
  • FBC, ELFTs, fasting lipids, HbA1c (if diabetic), TSH results

Additional Referral Information

  • Details of relevant signs and symptoms
  • Details of all treatments offered and efficacy and if referral is for a routine review/takeover of care
  • Relevant previous medical history and co-morbidities
  • Sleep study report if OSA suspected
  • Stress test report (if performed)
  • ECG (if available)
  • CXR report (if available)
  • Investigations relevant to co-morbidities
  • Respiratory function tests if patient a smoker, has COPD or asthma
  • Echocardiogram report
  • BNP or NT-pro-BNP results
  • History of smoking, alcohol intake and drug use (including recreational drugs)
  • Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander or Māori/Pacific Islander / Refugee status (increased risk of acute rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease)
  • Iron studies
Last updated 1 March 2024

Send Referrals To

Smart Referrals

Preferred Method
About Smart Referrals

Secure Web Transfer

Send to: Gold Coast Health Service District

Internal Referrals

Cardiology (E-Blueslips)

Fax

(07) 5687 4497

Post

Booking and Referral Centre
Gold Coast University Hospital
1 Hospital Boulevard
Southport QLD 4215

Enquiries

1300 559 083

Related HealthPathways

No directly related pathways found

Service Availability

Dr Rohan Jayansinghe
Medical Director Cardiology

Facilities

Gold Coast University Hospital
Robina Hospital

If you would like to send a named referral, please address it to the specialist listed above, who will allocate a suitably qualified specialist to see the patient. Alternatively, you can view a full list of our specialists.

Gold Coast Health - For Clinicians
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