Clinical Research to Explore Manifestations of Heart Failure Using Infrared Thermal Imaging Technology

Temperature is a vital and useful indicator for various diseases.Infrared thermal imaging (IRTI) allows the temperature representation of the body surface by thermal distribution, where it depends on the complex relationships defining the heat exchange processes between skin tissue, inner tissue, local vasculature, and metabolic activity.

The decrease in cardiac output in heart failure activate a series of compensatory adaption that are intended to maintain cardiovascular homeostasis. One of most important adaptation is activation of sympathetic nervous system, which could cause peripheral cutaneous vasoconstriction and decrease the skim temperature. Hence, the skim temperature of heart failure would be lower than health people,but which could not discovery by eye. The investigators hypothesize that IRTI could evaluate heart failure by the imaging of temperature distribution in the face on early stages.The aim of this study is to determine the effectiveness of infrared thermal imaging in evaluating heart failure.