Some areas of HF compliance more difficult than others

Heart failure patients find certain areas of compliance more difficult than others, Dutch researchers report. In an older HF population the researchers found that compliance with medication and appointment keeping was surprisingly high; whereas compliance with diet, fluid restriction, and weighing and exercise was low. The study examined questionnaire answers on compliance in 501 patients hospitalized for HF who participated in the Coordinating Study Evaluating Outcomes of Advising and Counseling in HF (COACH). Overall, 72% of patients were compliant with four out of six aspects of the HF regimen of: compliance with medication, appointment keeping, diet, fluid restriction, exercise, and weighing.Rates of compliance were particularly high for medication (98.6%) and appointment keeping (95%). However, compliance with sodium restriction was considerably lower (79%), as was fluid restriction (73%). Although 80% of patients stated that it is important to engage in some exercise, only 39% of the patients reported doing so. Reasons for having problems with activity were physical symptoms (27%) and a lack of energy (25%)....