Self-care among men with chronic heart failure - need for educational interventions?

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Abstract Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: None. Introduction Heart failure (HF) is one of the biggest problems in cardiology and public health. The long-term risk of developing HF symptoms in a person aged 55 years is 33% for men. Self-care is a key element of therapeutic process of patients with HF. Purpose To assess the level of self-care among men with chronic heart failure. Methods The study was conducted among 80 men diagnosed with chronic heart failure (mean age 58 years). A self-administered questionnaire and analysis of medical records were used to collect baseline sociodemographic and clinical data. Self-care was assessed using the standardized European Heart Failure Self-care Behavior Scale- EHFScBS-9. Results Patients in NYHA class II constituted the vast majority (71.25%), mean LVEF in the study group was 43.5%, and mean disease duration was 3 years. The most common comorbidities were ischemic heart disease (72.5%), hypertension (70%) and diabetes mellitus (60%). The most commonly reported non-pharmacological treatments for NS were fluid restriction (45%), moderate physical activity (42.50%) and daily weight control (41.25%). The EHFSc-9 questionnaire score averaged 50.31 points out of 100 possible (SD = 26.52). Conclusions Patients with HF have unsatisfactory self-care outcomes. There is a need to implement interventions based on patient-tailored health education.