Family caregivers need support with heart failure patients

Millions of family members are serving as caregivers for patients with heart failure and the numbers will continue to rise. It appears that caregivers desire to be involved in the patient's care even when the caregiving tasks average 8 hours per day. Burden, stress, and depression have been found to be significantly associated with the caregiving role in this population. Decreasing any negative aspects of caregiving should be a priority. Alarmingly, caregivers have reported being ignored or made to feel like an outsider by health care providers. Nurses are in a pivotal position to improve patient and caregiver outcomes by including the family caregivers of heart failure patients in all aspects of care and in promoting the well being of the caregiver. This article will highlight the importance of social support on patient and caregiver outcomes, and second, review studies on family caregiving among heart failure patients. Recommendations for nursing practice and further research will be discussed.