Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 12, 2026
03:47
Workflow and Framework for Collecting and Implementing Point-of-Care Ultrasound Data in the Management of Heart Failure Patients
Published on: July 12, 2024
Living with heart failure without realising: a qualitative patient study
Lena Andersson1, Irene Eriksson, Lena Nordgren
1Centre for Clinical Research, Sörmland, Uppsala University, Sweden. lena.el.andersson@dll.se
British Journal of Community Nursing
|April 5, 2013
Summary
People with heart failure often lack diagnosis information and support from primary healthcare. This can lead to self-management of symptoms and potential health difficulties.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Primary Health Care
- Patient Experience
Background:
- Heart failure presents a significant challenge in Swedish primary healthcare.
- Limited understanding exists regarding patient experiences of primary healthcare support for heart failure.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how individuals with heart failure perceive support within primary healthcare settings.
- To explore the information and care needs of heart failure patients in primary care.
Main Methods:
- Qualitative content analysis was employed, following Graneheim and Lundman (2004).
- Semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten participants (five men, five women) aged between 53 and 82 years.
Main Results:
- Participants reported receiving inadequate information about their heart failure diagnosis and its causes.
- Many believed their symptoms were a normal part of aging, not indicative of a serious condition.
- Patients primarily sought support for practical daily living needs, not illness management.
Conclusions:
- Primary healthcare may inadvertently neglect individuals with heart failure, compelling them to develop independent symptom management strategies.
- Insufficient patient information risks the development of personal, potentially inaccurate, health explanations, hindering effective condition management.
Related Concept Videos
01:30Heart Failure VII: Nursing Interventions
The first step in nursing management of a patient with heart failure involves thoroughly assessing the patient's medical history.Subjective Data: Obtain the patient's medical history of coronary artery disease, hypertension, myocardial infarction, and symptoms like dyspnea, orthopnea, and paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea.Objective Data: Conduct a physical examination to identify findings such as jugular vein distention, pulmonary crackles, tachycardia, murmurs, peripheral edema, and vital signs,...
01:30Heart Failure IV: Classification and Diagnostic Evaluation
Heart failure can be classified in various ways, with the most common classifications based on physical activity limitations, disease progression, severity, and treatment strategies.The Functional Classification of Heart Failure divides patients into four categories based on physical activity limitation due to symptom burden.Class I: Patients in this class have cardiac disease but no physical activity limitations. Ordinary activities like walking, climbing stairs, or routine tasks do not cause...
01:27Heart Failure I: Introduction
Heart failure refers to a clinical syndrome caused by structural or functional cardiac disorders that prevent the heart from pumping an adequate amount of blood to meet the body's metabolic needs. This condition often arises from myocardial infarction or ischemia, leading to decreased cardiac output, reduced tissue perfusion, impaired gas exchange, fluid volume imbalance, and decreased functional ability.Heart failure can result from disruptions in the mechanisms that regulate cardiac output...
01:26Heart Failure III: Clinical Manifestations
Heart failure (HF) manifests primarily as dyspnea, fatigue, and fluid retention, resulting in peripheral and pulmonary edema. Symptoms may vary depending on which ventricle is more affected, left or right.Left-Sided Heart FailureAlso known as left ventricular failure, this condition results from the left ventricle's inability to fill or eject sufficient blood into the systemic circulation. It leads to pulmonary congestion, which occurs when the left ventricle fails to eject blood effectively...
01:17Pathophysiology of Heart Failure
Heart failure (HF) is a progressive syndrome involving ventricles that leads to inadequate cardiac output. It can be classified based on location and output or ejection fraction. Ejection fraction (EF) is an essential measurement in the diagnosis and surveillance of HF. Reduced EF corresponds to systolic heart failure (HFrEF). However, HF with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) is becoming increasingly prevalent. Also known as diastolic HF, this form of HF is related to aging. The...
01:22Heart Failure VI: Adjunct Therapies
Additional therapies for treating patients with heart failure (HF) may include procedural interventions, supplemental oxygen, the management of sleep disorders, and nutritional therapy.Procedural InterventionsImplantable Cardioverter-Defibrillator: For patients at risk of life-threatening arrhythmias due to severe left ventricular dysfunction, an Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillator (ICD) can detect and terminate these arrhythmias, preventing sudden cardiac death and improving survival rates.