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WEDNESDAY, November 18, 2020 (HealthDay News) – After discharge from the hospital, audio messages about self-care can reduce the risk of re-hospitalization and death of heart failure patients, new research suggests.
Patients may not absorb the instructions given before leaving the hospital, explained study co-author Nancy Albert, a clinical specialist nurse at the Kaufman Center for Heart Failure at the Cleveland Clinic. So, “we needed a new way to deliver this potentially life-saving information,” he said in a press release from the American Heart Association (AHA).
“Patients may be tired, confused and concerned about being able to follow supplier orders and / or without family members at discharge, so they may not be able to hear, understand and ask questions about the instructions for self-care at home, “explained Albert.
“Distributing more paperwork may not be the answer. Also, some patients have health literacy problems, poor eyesight or don’t have access to the Internet to get information on heart failure,” he said.
Heart failure occurs when the heart no longer pumps blood efficiently enough to meet the body’s needs.
The study included approximately 1,000 patients, average age nearly 73, who were hospitalized for heart failure at four facilities in Ohio. When they were discharged from the hospital, patients received only usual care (control group) or standard care plus a MyROAD (My Recorded On-Demand Audio Discharge) sound card with instructions on how to use it.
The card, which can be replayed at home at any time, provides heart failure patients with information on diet, physical activity, medications and self-monitoring.
Compared to those in the control group, patients who received MyROAD were 27% less likely to visit the emergency room for any cause one month after initial hospital discharge and 29% less after 45 days.
Three months after discharge, MyROAD users were 40% less likely to need a heart assist device, receive a heart transplant, or die from any cause. According to the study, they were also nearly 50 percent less likely to die from heart failure.
The findings were presented at an AHA virtual meeting on Tuesday. Research presented at meetings is considered preliminary until publication in a peer-reviewed journal.
“It is important that patients who are discharged home after a hospital stay understand that by engaging in specific physical activity, diet, medications and self-monitoring behaviors, they can improve their lifespan and are less likely to require future emergency room visits.” Albert said.
More information
For more information on heart failure, visit the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the United States.
SOURCE: American Heart Association, press release, November 17, 2020
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