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Older adults' symptoms and their duration before hospitalization for heart failure
1Nazareth College of Rochester, Department of Nursing, NY 14618, USA.
Objective:
To describe the older adult heart failure patients' symptoms and their duration before a hospital admission and to explore related factors.
Design:
The study was an archival study of inpatient hospital records at one acute care facility in western New York.
Sample:
One hundred eighty-one patients with a mean age of 76 years.
Result:
Ninety-one percent of the patients reported having dyspnea an average of 3 days before hospital admission, and 37% reported having acute dyspnea an average of 12 hours before admission. Thirty-five percent of the patients reported having edema, and 33% reported a cough for an average of 7 days before their hospital admission. Age, heart failure history, and a symptom pattern of simultaneous development of preadmission symptoms were each related to the length of time patients experienced symptoms before admission.
Conclusion:
This study, at one acute care institution, showed that older adult patients with heart failure experience symptoms for a relatively long time before hospital admission. Education about symptom monitoring, symptom interpretation, and prompt health care-seeking are warranted for all patients with heart failure.
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