Nursing Care of Heart Failure With Preserved Ejection Fraction: Review

The incidence of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) has been steadily increasing in recent years, which poses significant challenges to clinical management. Indeed, these rises are attributable to the incompletely understood pathophysiology of the condition, limited treatment options, a prolonged clinical course, a substantial economic burden, and frequent, complex comorbidities. Thus, to address these challenges, this review synthesizes current research on the pathophysiological mechanisms, epidemiological characteristics, and clinical management of HFpEF. Meanwhile, this review further examines the existing gaps and challenges in nursing practices, aiming to inform and optimize clinical nursing care for this patient population. A systematic literature search was performed across four databases (PubMed, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and Embase) from inception to April 2024, using the keywords "heart failure with preserved ejection fraction", "HFpEF", and "nurs*". Ultimately, after duplicates and irrelevant records were removed, 72 articles were included in this review. Nursing care plays a pivotal role in enhancing the quality of life and improving clinical outcomes for patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction. Future efforts should prioritize optimizing treatment plans, reinforcing patient education, developing robust risk prediction models, and exploring innovative nursing care frameworks. Additionally, attention must be paid to the rational allocation and efficient use of nursing resources to deliver more effective, individualized patient care. Current clinical practice lacks standardized nursing protocols for the diagnosis, treatment, and long-term management of HFpEF. Therefore, conducting comprehensive patient assessments, implementing evidence-based nursing interventions tailored to individual diagnoses, and integrating advanced nursing models into routine practice are essential to enhance the quality of care.