Screening and Needs Assessment Tools for Palliative Care in Patients with Cardiovascular Disease: Narrative Review

There is a growing need for palliative care (PC) among patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD), as population ageing and technological progress bolster the numbers of patients living with chronic forms of CVD.

PC can provide support and benefits in areas that are not necessarily addressed by medical therapy. However, many healthcare providers, and cardiologists in particular, struggle with identifying the right time to introduce PC in the care trajectory of patients with CVD, especially in heart failure, where the clinical course is punctuated by highs and lows, with periods of stability that may last several months to years. The use of validated assessment tools to recognize PC needs of people living with CVD is recommended, but clinicians may be unaware of existing instruments and criteria for PC referral, or when and how to use them. We report here a narrative review of the literature, with the aim of providing an overview of useful tools for the identification and assessment of palliative care needs among patients suffering from cardiovascular disease with a view to improving their care process. We further discuss the overall suitability of available tools, as well as issues specifically related to implantable cardiac devices at the end-of-life.