Studies have shows that integrating a palliative care program with treatment for Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) can help the patient have a better quality of life, and in some cases even a longer quantity of life!
Palliative care focuses on improving quality of life through stress and symptom relief for patients with chronic illness. Palliative care is usually associated with cancer patients seeking chemotherapy and/or radiation but there is a growing number of patients utilizing palliative care with heart failure. Patients suffering from heart failure often suffer from symptoms like dyspnea, fatigue, pain, nausea, anxiety, and depression. All of these symptoms can lead to psychosocial issues for the patient and caregiver. In order for the heart failure patient’s palliative care treatment to be most effective, when the patient is diagnosed, he/she should be referred to palliative care.
Most people think palliative care is the same as hospice care, when it is not. St. Anthony’s Palliative Care is for when a person is still seeking curative, aggressive treatments. St. Anthony’s Hospice is when a cure is no longer attainable and the patient would like to focus on quality of life. If you or a loved one is in need of palliative or hospice care, please call us at (270) 826-2326.
Source for information: https://www.acc.org/latest-in-cardiology/articles/2016/02/11/08/02/palliative-care-for-patients-with-heart-failure
