Investigating the effect of self-care training on increasing general healthand self-care of heart failure patients

Heart disease leads to health problems in people. During one year, ۴۲% of women and ۲۴% of men die due to aheart attack caused by it. Heart failure is one of the most common cardiovascular disorders and is considered asa chronic, progressive and debilitating disorder. Its prevalence and incidence increase with age, so that in theUnited States, approximately one percent of people over ۵۰ years old and about ten percent of the elderly over۸۰ years old have heart failure (۱). On the other hand, progress in treatment and surgery has caused patients whosurvive death due to heart infarction to subsequently suffer from heart failure (۲).The growing trend of heart failure caused by the complications of infectious, inflammatory, vascular andvalvular heart diseases is also considered a major health problem and an epidemic disease in the United States ofAmerica, so that ۵ million people suffer from heart failure in the United States and about ۵۰۰,۰۰۰ new cases willbe added to this figure, and it is expected that the existing statistics will double in the next ۳۰ years (۳).In Iran, according to the statistics published by the Disease Management Center in ۲۰۱۰, the number of heartfailure patients in ۱۸ provinces of the country is ۳۳۳۷ per ۱۰۰,۰۰۰ population. During a survey in September۲۰۱۷ in Iran, ۲۵% of the patients hospitalized in cardiac departments had heart failure (۴). Heart failure leads toexercise intolerance and changes the patient's lifestyle, which affects his satisfaction and quality of life (۵). Therestrictions created also make the patient's work, family and social life difficult and cause social isolation anddepression (۶). Martenson, Drakop, Kanari and others (۲۰۰۳) also state that the primary source of depressionand unfavorable quality of life in these patients is due to the presence of numerous physical symptoms causedby the disease.Also, Denderdal and others state that the severity and number of symptoms of the disease have a threateningnature for these patients, and the feeling of imminent death causes mood disorders (۷). Anxiety, fear, worry andmood disorders ultimately cause not to benefit from proper sleep (۸). The physical symptoms caused by thedisease and intolerance of activity cause social isolation and also disrupt the sexual relations of the patients, andas a result, they change the patient's roles in family and social life and ultimately reduce their satisfaction withlife. In addition, the need to take some drugs such as diuretics creates a disturbance in the patient's socialrelationships and somehow affects their quality of life in the social dimension (۹). Chronic diseases haveemerged as the main challenge of health systems in the ۲۱st century. Today, the epidemic of non-communicablediseases is responsible for ۶۰% of the world's deaths. About ۸۰% of outpatient visits in England and ۷۵% ofhealth care costs in America are related to chronic diseases. England has estimated that by ۲۰۳۰, the incidenceof chronic diseases in the country's population over ۶۵ will more than double (۱۰).