Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Editorial
. 2023 Jun 13;17(1):5-7.
doi: 10.17925/HI.2023.17.1.5. eCollection 2023.

Integrating Palliative Care into the Management of Heart Failure with Reduced Ejection Fraction: A Practice Pearl

Abigail Latimer  1 , Christopher E Knoepke  2 , Roger Winters  3
Affiliations
Editorial

Integrating Palliative Care into the Management of Heart Failure with Reduced Ejection Fraction: A Practice Pearl

Abigail Latimer et al. Heart Int. .

Abstract

Heart failure with reduced ejection fraction is a progressive, undulating syndrome with an unpredictable illness course featuring intermittent symptom exacerbations and periods of stability. The progressive, variable trajectory of the illness burdens patients with myriad threats to physical, emotional, and spiritual functioning, quality of life and complex treatment decisions. Integrating palliative care is a recommended best practice for heart failure management; however, confusion persists about what palliative care comprises in the context of heart failure.

Keywords: Heart failure; heart failure with reduced ejection fraction; palliative care; patient communication; shared decision-making; symptom management.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Disclosures: Christopher E Knoepke is supported by a grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI; K23HL153892). Abigail Latimer and Roger Winters have no financial or non-financial relationships or activities to declare in relation to this article.

References

    1. Heidenreich PA, Bozkurt B, Aguilar D. et al. 2022 AHA/ACC/HFSA guideline for the management of heart failure: A report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Joint Committee on Clinical Practice Guidelines. Circulation. 2022;145:e895–1032. doi: 10.1161/CIR.0000000000001063. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Gazaway S, Stewart M, Schumacher A. Integrating palliative care into the chronic illness continuum: A conceptual model for minority populations. J Racial Ethn Health Disparities. 2019;6:1078–86. doi: 10.1007/s40615-019-00610-y. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Bloom MW, Greenberg B, Jaarsma T. et al. Heart failure with reduced ejection fraction. Nat Rev Dis Primers. 2017;3:17058. doi: 10.1038/nrdp.2017.58. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Gathright EC, Goldstein CM, Josephson RA, Hughes JW. Depression increases the risk of mortality in patients with heart failure: A meta-analysis. J Psychosom Res. 2017;94:82–9. doi: 10.1016/j.jpsychores.2017.01.010. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bernacki RE, Block SD. American College of Physicians High Value Care Task Force. Communication about serious illness care goals: A review and synthesis of best practices. JAMA Intern Med. 2014;174:1994–2003. doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2014.5271. - DOI - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources