Cognitive and self-care changes in patients with heart failure in the Amazon Region

Adriana De Oliveira Lameira Veríssimo,Isis Jaspe Reis Da Silva,Juniel Pereira Honorato,Stanley Soares Xavier,Milene Gouvêa Tyll,Aline Maria Pereira Cruz Ramos ,Silvio Douglas Medeiros Costa ,João Victor Moura Garcia

doi:10.33448/rsd-v9i6.3321

Abstract

Heart failure is characterized as the lack of blood pumping capacity performed by the heart, which is considered a public health problem worldwide. Due to HF, the individual can develop clinical aspects that impact cognitive function and, consequently, self-care. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate cognitive changes and self-care in patients affected by HF and compare it with the cognitive and self-care changes of healthy participants. This is a quantitative, epidemiological, cross-sectional case-control study carried out at an institution in the city of Belém, Pará, Brazil. The following tests were used for data collection: Montreal Cognitive Assessment, Digit Symbol Substitution Test, European Heart Failure Self-care Behavior Scale (EHFScBS). Data were tabulated in Microsoft Excel 2010 and statistically treated by Epi Info version 3.5.2 with a 5% significance level and considering a 95% confidence interval in all analyzes. It was observed that patients with HF have slightly better self-care compared to patients without HF with scores obtained by EHFScBS equal to 29.7 ± 6.9 and 31.8 ± 8.2, respectively. Additionally, patients with HF showed impairments in the three cognitive domains, and women with HF demonstrated greater cognitive impairment compared to the other participants. The present study provides data to help build new approaches to interventions by the multidisciplinary team to promote better self-care and avoid cognitive impairments in patients with HF.

Highlights

Heart failure (HF) is defined as an inability of the heart to pump blood effectively (CCDIC, 2018).This is considered a worldwide public health problem, being the main cause of hospitalization and mortality (Albuquerque et al, 2015; Boisvert, Proulx-Belhumeur, Gonçalve, Francoeur, & Gallani, 2015)
The case group consisted of 30 patients with HF who were treated at the cardiac emergency department of the referral center in Pará
Colombo & Gallani (2009) demonstrated in their study, conducted in a university hospital in the interior of São Paulo, the prevalence of HF cases among males (54.1%), with an average age of 58 years, low level of education, and informed average monthly of 1 to 2 minimum wages, showing similarity with the data found in our study

Summary

Introduction

Heart failure (HF) is defined as an inability of the heart to pump blood effectively (CCDIC, 2018).This is considered a worldwide public health problem, being the main cause of hospitalization and mortality (Albuquerque et al, 2015; Boisvert, Proulx-Belhumeur, Gonçalve, Francoeur, & Gallani, 2015). Cognition is considered to have the main influence on self-care maintenance, especially in older adults, resulting in greater adherence to treatment and lower readmissions (Uchmanowicz, Polańska, Mazur & Froelicher, 2017). Given the above mentioned issues, the indispensability of conducting an investigation about the cognitive alterations and their impact on the self-care of the patient with HF and, the harmful interference that these alterations may cause in the treatment and quality of life of the patient was verified. This study aimed to investigate cognitive and selfcare changes in patients with HF and to compare these changes with those in healthy participants

Objectives

Methods

Conclusion