Impact of chronic HF on a person’s social dimension

Chronic heart failure is a very serious, disabling condition which brings around significant impacts. One of the main issues to note is the effect of chronic heart failure on the patient’s social life. This condition can lead to a decreased social life with little social interaction, leading to loneliness and a lack of social support. For example, chronic heart failure often results in breathlessness and fatigue. This may lead to reduced ability to attend events and maintain a consistent social life with friends or family. Due to this, those with the condition who live alone have reported feeling low levels of social support and high levels of isolation. Such conditions increase the risk of depression, death and emergency department visits, highlighting the need of considering people’s social lives in chronic heart failure.

This review by Olano-Lizarraga M et al. aimed to understand the experiences and consequences of how chronic heart failure affects patients’ social lives and interactions.

Key learnings:

This study has highlighted the importance of understanding the factors involved in social interactions for patients with chronic heart failure. This will allow clinicians to detect at-risk groups and form a person-centred management strategy.