Investigando el autocuidado en una muestra de pacientes con insuficiencia cardiaca descompensada: un estudio transversal

Background: There is scarce evidence relating to self-care of heart failure (HF) in Spain. Inparticular, there is a need to establish patients’ level of understanding of HF, as well as theirability to recognise signs and symptoms of decompensation.Patients and methods: Cross-sectional study to determine the level of self-care in a populationof Spanish patients admitted to hospital with a primary diagnosis of decompensated HF. Aconvenience sample of 108 patients (50 women and 58 men) aged 83 ± 8 were recruited toparticipate in this study.Results: The Self-Care of Heart Failure Index version 6.2 was used to quantify self-care in oursample. Mean and standard deviation from the Self-Care of Heart Failure Index self-care main-tenance subscale were: a) ‘‘exercise for 30 minutes’’, 1 ± 1; b) ‘‘forget to take one of yourmedicines’’, 2 ± 2; c) ‘‘ask for low-salt items when eating out or visiting others’’, 2 ± 1. Apercentage of 67.6 had experienced shortness of breath or ankle swelling in the past month.However, the vast majority of our patients were unlikely to independently implement a remedy:a) reduce salt, 2 ± 1; b) reduce fluid intake, 1 ± 1; c) take an extra diuretic, 1 ± 1. Over 50%of our sample felt confident or very confident at following professional advice (3 ± 1), kee-ping themselves free of symptoms (3 ± 1), recognizing changes in their condition (3 ± 1) andevaluating the significance of such changes (3 ± 1).Conclusions: HF patients have a significantly low level of self-care when compared with HFpatients from other countries, especially when it comes to managing their condition. Self-care promotion should be a priority for all healthcare professionals involved in the care andmanagement of HF patients.