Compliance on Therapeutic Regimen among Heart Failure Patients attending in Cardiac Center, Kathmandu

Abstract

Heart failure is a chronic, progressive condition in which heart muscle is unable to pump  enough blood. The incidence and prevalence of heart failure is increasing gradually  to a high. Quality of life of heart failure patient is based on compliance to therapeutic  regimen. So this study was done to assess the status of compliance on therapeutic regimen  among heart failure patients attending Shahid Gangalal National Heart Center (SGNHC),  Kathmandu.  

The descriptive cross-sectional study design was used for the study. Two hundred fifty  patients who were clinically diagnosed with heart failure and under treatment for more  than three months attending the outpatient department of SGNHC were selected by non probability purposive sampling technique for data collection. Patients’ compliance status  was assessed by using semi – structured interview question and modified Evangelist’s  Heart Failure Compliance Questionnaire. Data was analyzed by using the descriptive and  inferential statistics. 

This study revealed that 58.8% of heart failure patients had received compliance counseling  from the health care professionals; 98% of patients had compliance on medicine, 94% on  follow up, 79.2% on diet, 46.8% on fluid restriction, 26.4% on exercise and only 8% on  weight measurement. Overall compliance on therapeutic regimen of heart failure patients  was 57.6%. Ethnicity (p=0.000) and religion (p=0.005) were statistically significant with  overall compliance among heart failure patients.  

This study showed that the majority of heart failure patients had compliance to follow-up,  medicine and diet, only a minority of them had compliance to weight measurement, fluid  restriction and exercise. Only, more than half of the heart failure patients had compliance  on overall therapeutic regimen. Thus, all heart failure patients need to receive compliance  counseling from the time of first diagnosis of heart failure in health care setting for their  compliance on all aspects.