Heart failure: it's not just for men

Abstract

Heart failure is end-stage cardiac disease, developing in 46% of women within 6 years of having a myocardial infarction, and is the leading cause of all hospitalizations and readmissions in women over the age of 65 years. Since women present with atypical symptoms leading to inaccurate diagnosing of heart disease, education becomes a key component in increasing women's ability to self-manage heart failure symptoms and to become proactive in health-promoting behaviors. Health care providers are responsible for communicating discharge education including risk factors, causes, classification and staging, clinical presentation, diagnostic testing, and management of heart failure to assist women in managing this terminal disease and improving their quality of life.