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Learning Self-care After Left Ventricular Assist Device Implantation

  • Self-Care and Health Outcomes (T Jaarsma, Section Editor)
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Abstract

The number of heart failure (HF) patients living with a left ventricular assist device (LVAD) as destination therapy is increasing. Successful long-term LVAD support includes a high degree of self-care by the patient and their caregiver, and also requires long-term support from a multidisciplinary team. All three components of self-care deserve special attention once an HF patient receives an LVAD, including activities regarding self-care maintenance (activities related both to the device and lifestyle), self-care monitoring (e.g., monitoring for complications or distress), and self-care management (e.g., handling alarms or coping with living with the device). For patients to perform optimal self-care once they are discharged, they need optimal education that focuses on knowledge and skills through a collaborative, adult learning approach.

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Conflict of Interest

Naoko Kato, Tiny Jaarsma, and Tuvia Ben Gal declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Social and Welfare Studies, Faculty of Health Sciences, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden

    Naoko Kato & Tiny Jaarsma

  2. Department of Therapeutic Strategy for Heart Failure, The University of Tokyo Graduate School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan

    Naoko Kato

  3. JSPS Postdoctoral Fellow for Research Abroad, Tokyo, Japan

    Naoko Kato

  4. Heart Failure Unit, Cardiology Department, “Rabin” Medical Center, Petah Tikva, Israel

    Tuvia Ben Gal

  5. “Sackler” Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel

    Tuvia Ben Gal

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  1. Naoko Kato
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  2. Tiny Jaarsma
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  3. Tuvia Ben Gal
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Correspondence to Tuvia Ben Gal.

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Kato, N., Jaarsma, T. & Ben Gal, T. Learning Self-care After Left Ventricular Assist Device Implantation. Curr Heart Fail Rep 11, 290–298 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11897-014-0201-0

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