A chest X-ray shows the size of your heart and whether there is fluid build-up around the heart in the lungs. It can also help to eliminate other causes of shortness of breath that can be confused with CHF, such as emphysema or pneumonia.
Victoria’s comment: I’ve gotten an X-ray every time I go to the hospital with shortness of breath. It always shows that I have water in my lungs from my CHF. But I’ve heard of other patients who were treated for CHF when they had pneumonia, so I guess it’s worth the effort.