HEART FAILURE UNIT

Abstract

Objective: Chronic heart failure (CHF) is a clinical syndrome that carries a poor prognosis, both in survival, as in symptoms. Thus, quality of life is an important objective in the treatment of patients with chronic heart failure (CHF). The Minnesota Living With Heart Failure Questionnaire (MLWHFQ) is the instrument most widely used to evaluate quality of life in research studies. Our aim was to evaluate the effectiveness of health education of a Heart Failure Unit (HFU) in patients with CHF. Design and method: We evaluate 154 patients after two 6-monthly visits to our Heart Failure Unit (HFU). Patients data obtained at the first visit was compared with those at the second visit. All patients completed on both visits the MLWHFQ. Results: 154 patients. Mean age: 61,3 ± 11,6. Males: 68,8%. Associated risk factors: hypertension 64,9%, dyslipidemia 53,2%, diabetes 32,5%, active smoking 20,8%, ex-smoking 40,3%. Mean ejection fraction (%): 31,8 ± 9. Functional classification: NYHA class I 28,6%:, II 49,4%:, III:22,1%, IV:0% The etiology of CHF: ischemic 37,7%; hypertensive 24,3%; dilated cardiomyopathy 22,1%;valvular 5,2%; others 10,7%. Therapeutic regimen applied: RAS blockers 97,4%; betablockers 85,7%; loop diuretic 86,5%; spironolactone 51,9%; antiplatelet drugs 53,2%, nitrates 27,6%, digoxin 35,1% In the first visit our patients had a mean BMI: 31,7 ± 5,7 Kg/m2, without statistical significance differences at the 6 months follow-up: 31, 3 ± 5,9 Kg7m2 Regard to the MLKHF questionnaire, at the second visit, we observed significant improvements in the global results: 41, 4 ± 22,4 vs 36,81 ± 21,2 (p < 0,001) Conclusions: A significant improvement in quality of life of patients with CHF was demostrated after health education. With this study we highlights the importance of the role of the HFU team, to improve health care of our patients.