Patient Perception, Knowledge and Adaptation in The Management of Heart Failure: A Multicenter, Cross-Sectional,...

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Patient Care
• Health Psychology

Background:

• Heart failure (HF) significantly impacts patients' quality of life and requires active self-management.
• Understanding patient perceptions, adaptation, and treatment compliance is vital for effective HF care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess heart failure patients' perceptions of their disease.
• To evaluate patient adaptation to the HF process.
• To determine treatment compliance and knowledge levels regarding HF from the patient's viewpoint.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional, multicenter study involving 504 heart failure patients.
• Utilized a questionnaire assessing demographics, symptoms, clinical follow-up, HF knowledge, and treatment awareness.
• Data collected from patients with HF for at least 6 months across 10 cardiology centers.

Main Results:

• Most patients recognized HF symptoms (e.g., shortness of breath, fatigue) and regularly used HF medications (98.8%).
• Significant knowledge gaps exist regarding medication effects on kidney function (68.5%) and blood pressure (76.9%).
• Low rates of daily weight monitoring (35.5%), blood pressure monitoring (26.9%), and exercise (27%) were reported, despite good adherence to salt restriction (73.3%).

Conclusions:

• Heart failure patients demonstrate awareness of HF signs and symptoms and adhere to prescribed medications.
• Enhanced patient education is necessary for non-pharmacological management, including weight and blood pressure monitoring, dietary sodium restriction, and exercise.
• Improving patient knowledge on self-care strategies is essential for optimizing heart failure management.