Congestive Heart Failure in the Elderly - A Nursing Approach

Heart Failure is a progressive heart disease when the muscle of the heart is weakened so that it cannot pump blood as it should; the blood backs up into the blood vessels around the lungs and the other parts of the body (NHS Choice, 2015). In heart failure, the heart is not able to maintain a normal range cardiac output to meet the metabolic needs of the body (Kemp and Conte, 2012). Heart failure is a major worldwide public health problem, it is the end stage of heart disease and it could lead to high mortality. At present, heart failure is usually associated with old age, given the dramatic increase in the population of older people (ACCF/AHA, 2013). In the USA, there are about 5.7 million adults who have heart failure, about half of the people die within 5 years of diagnosis, and it costs the nation an estimated $30.7 billion each year (ACCF/AHA, 2013).

Nearly 5.1 million people in the United States have been diagnosed with heart failure. Yet so many people don’t have a clue what it is until they have been diagnosed with it. Congestive Heart Failure, or CHF, is a disease that has many symptoms, can be tested and treated, has several causes, and can be avoided.

Heart failure affects nearly 6 million Americans. It is the leading cause of hospitalization in people older than 65. Roughly 550,000 people are diagnosed with heart failure each year (Emory Healthcare, 2014). Heart failure is a pathologic state where the heart cannot pump enough blood to meet the demand of the body’s metabolic needs or when the ventricle’s ability to fill is impaired. It is not a disease, but rather a complex clinical syndrome. The symptoms of heart failure come from pulmonary vascular congestion and inadequate perfusion of the systemic circulation. Individuals experience orthopnea,

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) there are an estimated 5.1 million adults suffering from heart failure (2013). As the prevalence of heart failure continues to rise, one out of every nine deaths occur as a result of this chronic condition. Studies conducted at Yale found in Medicare age patients with heart failure, there is a median 30-day mortality rate of 11.1% and 5-year rate of approximately 50% (Alspach, 2014). According to Desai & Stevenson (2012), rising costs of care are in direct correlation to the number of hospital admissions related to a primary diagnosis of heart failure especially among adults age 65 years or older. The national rate for readmissions within 30 days is approximately 24.7%, consequently having

Congestive heart failure patients may need multiple medications. Each medication option treats a different symptom or contributing factor and comes

Congestive heart failure is a chronic condition that is responsible for the highest number of hospitalizations among adults. Readmission rates after hospitalization also remain high, with 50% of patients being readmitted within 6 months of discharge. (Desai & Stevenson, 2012). The Affordable Care Act penalizes hospitals with readmissions within 30 days after discharge, making readmissions a focus of hospitals nationwide. Several factors including discharge planning, patient education, diet restrictions, and early follow up appointments can help to reduce readmissions, but continuous monitoring is necessary to catch early signs of decompensation. (Desai & Stevenson, 2012).

Rising health care cost and stricter regulations for insurance reimbursement plans have pushed health care leaders to re-evaluate health care services. One focus is reducing hospital readmission rates for chronic disease process (Bos-Touwen et al, 2015). Congestive heart failure is one of the leading causes of hospital readmission (Cubbon et al, 2014). Fifteen million people worldwide have a diagnosis of CHF. In addition, 15-20% of those with the diagnosis of CHF are hospitalized yearly (Sahebi et al, 2015). In 2010, 40 billion dollars was spent on health care needs for CHF patients. Seventy percent of the resources were for hospital services (Siabani, Driscoll, Davidson, and Leeder, 2014). The need for streamline healthcare for CHF patients is imperative to improve overall patient outcomes and reduce the amount of hospital readmission rates.

Heart failure (HF) is defined as a multifaceted clinical syndrome that can result from any structural or functional cardiac disorder that impairs the ability of the ventricle to fill with or eject blood. In HF, the heart may not provide tissues with adequate blood for metabolic needs, and cardiac-related elevation of pulmonary or systemic venous pressures may result in organ congestion1. In the United States, HF is increasing in incidence with about 5.1 million people suffering from HF and half of people who develop HF die within 5years 2. Over 75% of existing and new cases occurred in individuals over 65 years of age, < 1% in individuals below 60 years, nearly 10% in those over 80 years of age. HF costs the

Congestive heart failure (CHF) is a syndrome that occurs when the heart cannot pump sufficient blood to meet the tissues metabolic and oxygen needs. As a result, intravascular/ interstitial volume overload and poor tissue perfusion occurs. An individual with heart failure experiences reduced exercise tolerance, a reduced quality of life and shortened life span. The most common cause of heart failure is coronary artery disease (CAD). The incidence of heart failure increases with age. Approximately 1% of people over the age of 50 and 10% of people over the age of 80 experience heart failure. The prognosis depends on underlying cause and response to treatment. Heart failure may be classified according to the side of the heart affected.

Many elderly patients need a good support system to help them get through their medical conditions. Without the support and proper education the elderly are at risk for developing more health related complications. To avoid these problems healthcare providers can provide their patients with resources and assistance. Moreover, when an elderly patient is diagnosed with Cardiomyopathy and Congestive Heart Failure it is vital that the patient knows to be compliant to their plan of care. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the approach to care, recommended treatment plan, patient and family education, and teaching plan towards the elderly patient with cardiomyopathy and congestive heart failure.

Congestive heart failure (CHF) is a type of cardiovascular diseases. CHF occurs when the efficiency of pumping the blood in the heart is decreased, which means it can no longer function properly. CHF is a prevalent disease, according to CDC, "About 5.7 million adults in the United States have heart failure" [1]. People with CHF may experience wheezing or persistent coughing, nausea, which is a lack of appetite, increased heart palpitations, and shortness of breath that is also named dyspnea. CHF has four stages, each one describes the risk factors, symptoms of CHF, and structural disorder. The stages of CHF disease sometimes can be treated. However, if CHF is not treated from the early signs, it will develop from one stage to another until

(Heart Failure Society of America, 2010). HF is accountable for 25% of all readmission within 30 days in the United States and represents an estimated $17 million dollars in healthcare spending (Desai, 2012). HF is most commonly seen in person’s age 65 or greater with common clinical presentations of dyspnea with exertion, orthopnea, edema in lower extremities and weight gain Patients often experience frequent exacerbations and decompensations (Anderson, 2014). The Heart Failure Society of America (2010) published the Comprehensive Heart Failure Practice Guidelines with the underlying goal to improve symptoms and to optimize the patient’s volume status. These guidelines include evidence based recommendations for “prevention, evaluation, disease management, and pharmacologic and device therapy” (Heart Failure Society of America, 2010, p 476). The Institute for Healthcare Improvement (n.d.) supports the balance of evidence based treatment during acute admission but asserts that it is equally as important to assess and provide patient education for self-management after

In the United States, over 5 million patients have heart failure (HF) and approximately 20 million patients have chronic kidney disease (CKD). Both conditions are linked by multiple risk factors including obesity, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, tobacco abuse, and increasing age. The presence of HF increases the risk of CKD and vice versa. Nearly one third of all patients with HF and 70% of Medicare patients with HF have Stage III CKD or greater and approximately 50% of dialysis dependent end stage renal disease (ESRD) patients will develop HF.

Heart is the only pumping organ of the whole body. It has the most essential function of pumping blood throughout the body. Through blood various energy products that includes, ATP, nutrition and oxygen are supplied to whole body. But if in case the heart losses its function of pumping, such condition is known as Congestive Heart Failure. During this stage the blood leaves the heart at very slow pace thereby increasing the pressure in heart. Lack of pumping function will lead to decreased blood flow and this will cause lack of nutrients and oxygen to the required tissues. Since more and more blood starts to accumulate in heart, the walls of heart tend to stretch and become thick and stiff to accommodate the extra blood being poured into its chambers. But eventually this modification will create a hurdle in pumping action of heart. In later stages kidneys, which normally function to excrete extra fluid from body, starts to retain most of the water. This extra water gets filled up in interstitial spaces in ankles, feet, legs, lungs and many other organs of the body causing congestion, hence this condition is termed as congestive heart failure.

As the population ages heart failure is expected to increase exceptionally. About twenty-two percent of men and forty-four percent of women will develop heart failure within six years of having a heart attack. “Thirty years ago patients would have died from their heart attacks!” (Couzens)