[Cardiac insufficiency-failure and life quality]

Irene Prat González1, Cristina Vaqué Crusellas

  • 1Area Básica de Salud de Palamós. irenepratgo@gmail.com

Revista De Enfermeria (Barcelona, Spain)
|June 27, 2009
PubMed

Insights

Heart failure patients face reduced quality of life. This review identifies key factors and assessment tools impacting lifestyle quality for better treatment planning in cardiac insufficiency patients.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiology
  • Public Health
  • Quality of Life Research

Context:

  • Cardiac insufficiency (or heart failure) is a growing chronic cardiovascular disease with increasing prevalence, incidence, mortality, and healthcare costs.
  • Patients with heart failure experience life-threatening risks, leading to significant daily activity limitations and diminished perceived quality of life.
  • Assessing patient quality of life is crucial for effective treatment planning and predicting therapeutic response.

Purpose:

  • To review and identify variables that influence the quality of life for patients with cardiac insufficiency.
  • To identify and describe the instruments most commonly used for assessing quality of life in these patients.

Summary:

  • A bibliographical search was conducted on Medline and Cuiden databases.
  • Five articles were analyzed, prioritizing publication date, journal diversity, study sector, and author professions.
  • The review focuses on factors affecting lifestyle quality and the tools used for its evaluation in heart failure patients.

Impact:

  • Provides a comprehensive overview of factors influencing quality of life in cardiac insufficiency patients.
  • Highlights commonly used assessment instruments, aiding clinicians in patient evaluation.
  • Informs treatment strategies by emphasizing patient-centered outcomes and lifestyle quality, which many patients prioritize over lifespan.

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