Gender-dependent compliance with therapeutic recommendations in patients with heart failure

Abstract

Abstract Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: None. Non-pharmacological therapies are one of the key elements in the treatment of heart failure. Those therapies are effective if the instructions are followed. Aim of this study was the assessment of whether gender influence the degree of compliance with therapeutic recommendations in elderly patients with heart failure. Methods 180 patients (aged 72,77 ± 7,98) with heart failure recognized based on ESC criteria were included in the study. In all, capability for self-care of patients with HF were analyzed by using Polish version the nine-item European Heart Failure Self-care Behavior Scale (EHFScBS-9). The complete results are obtained by adding up the number of points – the more the points, the worse is the capability for self-care. Patients were divided into 2 groups according to the gender: 70,6% men and 29,4% women. Results A satisfactory or good level of the capability for self-care of patients with HF was found in 27,8% of the patients. More than 65% of the patients followed the recommendations for taking medication and 41,7% used a low-sodium diet, while only 5,5% of the patients followed the recommendations for physical exercise. The average value of the level of the capability for self-care of patients was 27,7 ± 5,25 points. Women significantly worse comply with the overall level of self-care (p=00441) and recommendations regarding among the following variables: "I weigh myself every day" (p=0,0342) and "I limit the amount of fluids" (p=0,0139). Exact results of EHFScBS-9 scale are presented in the table below. Conclusion Gender may be a factor in compliance with therapeutic recommendations. Women are less likely to follow therapeutic recommendations for heart failure.