Peer Reviewed
Feature Article Cardiovascular medicine
Heart failure and palliative care: are we there yet?
Recent articles on:
Heart failure
Heart failure
Abstract
Integrating a palliative approach with active management can help identify and address the significant needs of patients with advanced heart failure.
Key Points
- Introducing a palliative approach to care of patients with heart failure while still attempting to modify the disease course through treatment can improve patients’ quality of life.
- Patients who would benefit from a palliative approach can be better identified by tools that assess needs rather than prognosis.
- Optimal palliative care of patients with heart failure integrates ongoing active management with specific interventions to manage symptoms such as breathlessness and oedema.
- A plan for deactivation of implantable cardioverter defibrillators at the end of life should be devised and discussed with patients.
- Patients should be given the opportunity to reflect on and communicate their preferences for end-of-life care early in the disease process.
Picture credit: © And.One/Dollar Photo Club
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