Abstract
Heart failure is often characterised by low exercise capacity and a great impairment of performance in the activities of daily living. The correct management of the disease can prevent the worsening of symptoms and promote a better quality of life. The aims of this study are to understand the relationship of gender and pathophysiological characteristics with self-care behaviour and to evaluate the self-care behaviour in a sample of Portuguese heart failure inpatients, using the Self-Care of Heart Failure Index (SCHFI). A cross-sectional multicentre study enrolling 225 heart failure inpatients from eight hospitals from Portugal was performed. At admission, each patient’s functional capacity was evaluated as well as their self-care behaviour, using the SCHFI Portuguese v6.2. A comparison between self-care behaviour with gender was performed. The patients’ mean age was 68.4 ± 10.7 years old, 68% were male and 82.3% had reduced ejection fraction. A mean value of 47.9, 35.6 and 38.8 points was found in the SCHFI score of the sections self-care maintenance, self-care management and self-care confidence, respectively. Heart failure inpatients present inadequate levels of self-care behaviour. The results do not suggest a relationship between gender and pathophysiological characteristics with self-care behaviour.
Highlights
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.Heart failure (HF) is a clinical syndrome characterised by typical symptoms, such as breathlessness, ankle swelling and fatigue, which may be accompanied by signs such as elevated jugular venous pressure, pulmonary crackles and peripheral oedema [1]
The patients were evaluated in terms of socio-demographic and clinical variables such as: (1) self-care behaviour of the disease using the Self-Care of Heart Failure Index (SCHFI); (2) functional capacity according to the London Chest Activities of Daily Living scale (LCADL) and the Barthel index (BI); (3) existence of cardiovascular risk factors (CVRFs) such as hypertension, dyslipidaemia, sedentary lifestyle, obesity, heredity, diabetes, tobacco use and stress; (4)
The results of our study demonstrate that patients, independently of gender, present inadequate levels of self-care behaviour, with self-care management being the most affected area
Summary
Heart failure (HF) is a clinical syndrome characterised by typical symptoms, such as breathlessness, ankle swelling and fatigue, which may be accompanied by signs such as elevated jugular venous pressure, pulmonary crackles and peripheral oedema [1]. It is a growing global health challenge, with a great economic burden for health system [2]. Self-care is considered essential in the management of chronic illnesses. Self-care in people with chronic illness is more prominent because their management should be seen as a continuum and a priority [5,6]
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