Management of Patients with Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction: What do Patients and Providers Need and Want?

HFpEF Patients & Providers 

Heart failure (HF) is a condition in which the heart does not work well as a pump. About half of patients with HF have a type of HF in which the heart is very stiff, which is more common in older people with a history of high blood pressure, obesity and diabetes.  It is harder to diagnose and is less well recognised and understood. No specific drugs have been found to help this type of HF, except for diuretics or ‘water pills’.  Controlling blood pressure and blood sugar, and being active are recommended for patients with this HF.  Most patients are managed in primary care sometimes in collaboration with specialists. In this study we want to ask patients with this type of HF about their challenges, how they manage HF and their other conditions, and ask patients, primary care providers and HF nurses about what they think will improve management and how to organise care.  We will recruit and consent 20-25 patients, 20-25 providers from primary care and HF specialist services to talk to us. Interviews can be by telephone or in a place of the person’s choosing, and will be audio-recorded and transcribed. It is confidential: no identifying information will be on the interviews or written transcripts so no one will know who it is.  We will use what people tell us to improve the management of this type of HF to help patients with symptoms, have better quality of life, and make sure that patients get the right care.  We will talk to patient groups and providers about what people have told us, and use the information as part of a programme of research to improve management.

Amount awarded: 25,441