Treatment of heart failure at home

AIM: An alternative for treatment and control of patients aged 80 years and more suffering from heart failure. INTRODUCTION: It is known that a substantial proportion the elderly suffer from heart failure. Patients of advanced age do prefer to be treated at home. They find it a burden to go the hospital and being examined. At the same time it is known that treatment for heart failure in this advanced age is more difficult and less evidence-based as in younger years. PRACTICE: A nurse practitioner working for the family practice examined and controlled 63 elderly over 80 at home by visiting them and controlling them with a limited number of examinations. We saw them every three months and controlled weight, blood pressure, condition, shortness of breath, edema of the ankles, enlargement of the liver, BNP, Hb, Creatinine. If necessary we controlled diet, and changed medication. RESULTS: It was able to stabilize the condition and to prevent hospital admission. The quality of life was improved, the satisfaction of the patients much better and the mortality of heart failure minimized. In this way we were able to give an alternative to hospital heart failure policlinics for a group of elderly, who are not easy movable any more.