Self-Care of Patients with Advanced Stage Heart Failure

Abstract

Despite continuing scientific and technological developments in the field of healthcare, heart failure has increasing prevalence and incidence throughout the world and remains one of the most important causes of morbidity and mortality. According to the 2015 data of the American Heart Association, there were approximately 6.2 million heart failure patients aged >20 years in the USA, and when 870,00 new diagnoses per year are added, it is estimated that the rate of diagnosed cases will increase by 46% by the year 2030. As heart failure is a chronic and progressive disease, it requires many years of follow-up, treatment, and care. The primary aims of heart failure treatment are to reduce mortality and hospital admissions, increase functional capacity, correct symptoms and findings, and improve quality of life. In addition to the medical treatment of patients with heart failure, to provide compliance with the recommendations related to the management of signs and symptoms which cause mild-severe impairments in daily life because of fatigue, shortness of breath, and other cardiac findings, it is necessary to record and strengthen self-care practices. Self-care is essential for patients with heart failure [HF], and improving self-care is a major focus of multidisciplinary HF management programmes worldwide. This chapter will consider self-care in four phases, determining the self-care evaluation, self-care maintenance, self-care monitoring, and self-care management.