Abstract
A growing body of evidence supports the fact that optimal health-related quality of life is largely dependent on patient competence in symptom perception. However, many studies have reported poor symptom perception in patients with heart failure. In China, there has been no previous research on assessing the symptom perception ability of patients with heart failure. This study aimed to describe how Chinese patients with heart failure perceive their symptoms, as well as to explore their influencing factors. A theory-based, descriptive, correlational cross-sectional design was used in this study. Data on symptom perception and factors related to symptom perception were collected via structured interviews and medical records. A convenience sample of 208 hospitalized patients was enrolled. The degree of symptom perception in this study was at a high level. The results showed that the level of depression, the New York Heart Association functional class, the left ventricular ejection fraction, and educational background were identified as independent factors of symptom perception in Chinese patients with heart failure. The degree of symptom perception of patients with heart failure was affected by personal, psychological, and physiological factors. Health policy and healthcare providers should pay more attention and deepen the understanding to Chinese patients with heart failure to provide better healthcare.
Highlights
Heart failure (HF) has become a global disease, with an increasing prevalence of about 26 million people [1]
This study found that higher level of depression and the New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class were independent facilitators of symptom perception in Chinese patients with HF
The mean Heart Failure Somatic Perception Scale v.3 (HFSPS) score in this study was higher than similar studies in the United States and Italy, along with another study that used this scale for a different purpose in China [12,31,33,34,35]
Summary
Heart failure (HF) has become a global disease, with an increasing prevalence of about 26 million people [1]. Projections show that the prevalence of HF would increase 46% from 2012 to 2030 in the United States, resulting in more than 8 million HF patients over 18 years of age [2]. In China, the hospitalization rate of HF accounted for 20%. Of cardiovascular diseases, whereas the mortality rate of HF accounted for 40% [6]. Symptom perception was considered as the most critical step to successful self-care management, as poor symptom perception could cause exacerbation of the HF and delays in treatment [8,9,10]. Among multiple definitions of symptom perception, Riegel defined symptom perception as including both symptom monitoring and symptom recognition, as well as body listening, symptom interpretation, and labeling [10,11]
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