Abstract 17541: An Education Intervention Focused on Self-monitoring for Symptom and Sodium Intake Improves Adherence to the Low Sodium Diet and Health Outcome in Patients with Heart Failure

Abstract

Background: Despite the clinical emphasis on recommending a low sodium diet (LSD), adherence to a LSD remains poor in patients with heart failure (HF). Additional research is needed to determine successful interventions to improve adherence to a LSD and health outcomes. Purpose: To determine the effect of an education intervention on adherence to a LSD and health outcomes. Method: A total of 109 HF patients (age 64±9 years, 29% female) who were non-adherent to LSD, indicating > 3g of 24-hour urinary sodium excretion (24hr UNa) at baseline, were randomly assigned to one of 3 groups: 1) symptom monitoring and restricted 3 gram sodium diet (SMART) group, 2) the telephone monitoring (TM) group, or 3) usual care control group. The SMART group received individualized teaching and guidance of self-monitoring for worsening symptom and sodium intake using symptom and food diary for 4 sessions over 8 weeks. Patients assigned to either of the 2 intervention groups (SMART or TM) received phone calls every 2 weeks over 8 weeks. At 6 months follow-up, adherence to a LSD was assessed using 24hr UNa. Patients were followed for 1 year to determine time to first event of hospitalization or death due to cardiac problems. Repeated measures ANOVA and Cox regression were used to determine the effect of intervention. Results: The SMART group (n=37) showed a significant reduction in sodium intake across time compared to the TM group (n=35) and control group (n=37) (p= .022). In the Cox regression, patients in the SMART group had longer cardiac event-free survival compared to the control group after controlling for age, gender, ejection fraction, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor use, and better blocker use (p=.008). Conclusion: An education intervention focused on self-monitoring for symptom and sodium intake improved adherence to LSD and health outcomes in patients with HF. Helping patients engage in self-monitoring for symptom and sodium intake by themselves can promote better health outcome.