Quality of life and self-care changes of the patients with heart failure after long term monitoring program

Abstract

Introduction. According Hygiene Institute data, in 2018 in Lithuania, the incidence of heart failure (HF) was 9 000 cases, due to Cardiovascular diseases died 218669 patients (1). To prevent worsening of HF and the complications - patient's death it’s important not only prescribe optimal medications treatment, but also to inform patient’s how to recognize worsening HF, adjust modified risk factors (2,3). HF patient’s education increases their attention to self-care (4). HF patient’s self-management reduces hospitalization and mortality and improves their quality of life (5). Research aim. To evaluate the changes on the self-care and the quality of life before and after the longterm monitoring program for patients with heart failure. Research methods and organization.: The data of 83 patients (New York Heart Association class II– III symptoms), discharged from the Department of Cardiology of Lithuanian University of Health Sciences in 2017-2018 after worsening of HF (coded I50 according to ICD-10, chronic either decompensated or de novo cases) were analyzed. All patients participated in the long-term monitoring program and had four visits to cardiologist and participated in 4 training modules provided by a heart failure nurse. Sociodemographic, physical assessment data was collected using the Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire (MLWHFQ). It contained 21 items using a 6-point (zero to five) Likert scale, with a maximum score of 105. Lower scores indicate better QOL. Patient’s self-care was measured with the European Heart Failure Self-care Behavior Scale. The European Heart Failure Self‐Care Behavior Scale (EHFScB scale), comprising 12 items rated on a 5‐point scale between 1 (I completely agree) and 5 (I completely disagree). The lower the score, the better the patient's self-care: 12-27 points - good self-care, 28-43 points - satisfactory, 44-60 points - bad self-care. Data analyzed by