Stefan Störk1, Ausra Kavoliuniene2, Dragos Vinereanu3, Rafael Ludwig1, Petar Seferovic4, Kenneth Dickstein5, Stefan D Anker6, Gerasimos Filippatos7, Pjotr Ponikowski8, Mitja Lainscak9. 1. Comprehensive Heart Failure Center, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany. 2. Hospital of Lithuanian University of Health Science, Kaunas, Lithuania. 3. University of Medicine and Pharmacy Carol Davila, University and Emergency Hospital, Bucharest, Romania. 4. Clinical Center of Serbia, Belgrade, Serbia. 5. University of Stavanger, Stavanger, Norway. 6. University Medical Center Göttingen, Germany. 7. University of Athens, Athens, Greece. 8. Wroclaw Medical University, Wroclaw, Poland. 9. General Hospital Celje, Celje, Slovenia.
Abstract
AIM & METHODS: One critical factor enhancing the implementation of successful diagnostic and therapeutic strategies into clinical practice is awareness among the lay public. We describe awareness in a contemporary, multinational convenience sample of subjects attending the Heart Failure Awareness (HFA) Day Initiatives in 2013. RESULTS: We analysed 2,438 subjects (Germany 33%, Lithuania 42%, Romania 8%, Slovenia 17%) : 53% were female, 58% were aged >60 years, 11% (had) worked in the medical sector, 82% heard about HF before. Shortness of breath and tiredness were correctly identified as symptoms of heart failure in 71% and 61%, but only 52% recognized swelling of feet and legs as a clinical sign; 31% considered heart failure a normal symptom of old age, and only 38% realized the particularly poor prognosis after a heart failure related hospitalization. Subjects who had heard about heart failure before had a lower prevalence of common misbeliefs about HF. CONCLUSION: In subjects participating in the HFA Day initiative 2013, the level of awareness was unsatisfactory, and important misconceptions remain. The educational and awareness activities for both the population at large and also for decision makers should be broadened and intensified.
AIM & METHODS: One critical factor enhancing the implementation of successful diagnostic and therapeutic strategies into clinical practice is awareness among the lay public. We describe awareness in a contemporary, multinational convenience sample of subjects attending the Heart Failure Awareness (HFA) Day Initiatives in 2013. RESULTS: We analysed 2,438 subjects (Germany 33%, Lithuania 42%, Romania 8%, Slovenia 17%) : 53% were female, 58% were aged >60 years, 11% (had) worked in the medical sector, 82% heard about HF before. Shortness of breath and tiredness were correctly identified as symptoms of heart failure in 71% and 61%, but only 52% recognized swelling of feet and legs as a clinical sign; 31% considered heart failure a normal symptom of old age, and only 38% realized the particularly poor prognosis after a heart failure related hospitalization. Subjects who had heard about heart failure before had a lower prevalence of common misbeliefs about HF. CONCLUSION: In subjects participating in the HFA Day initiative 2013, the level of awareness was unsatisfactory, and important misconceptions remain. The educational and awareness activities for both the population at large and also for decision makers should be broadened and intensified.
Authors: Caroline Morbach; Martin Wagner; Stefan Güntner; Carolin Malsch; Mehmet Oezkur; David Wood; Kornelia Kotseva; Rainer Leyh; Georg Ertl; Wolfgang Karmann; Peter U Heuschmann; Stefan Störk Journal: BMC Cardiovasc Disord Date: 2017-05-05 Impact factor: 2.298
Authors: Clare J Taylor; Alyson L Huntley; John Burden; Amy Gadoud; Toto Gronlund; Nicholas Robert Jones; Eleanor Wicks; Sara McKelvie; Kit Byatt; Richard Lehman; Anna King; Bev Mumford; Gene Feder; Jonathan Mant; Richard Hobbs; Rachel Johnson Journal: Open Heart Date: 2020-06