Therapeutic education of patients with heart failure in the emergency room

Heart failure (HF) is a major public health problem, both in terms of morbidity and mortality and in terms of cost to society. In order to improve the quality of life of heart failure patients and to prevent acute decompensation episodes, therapeutic education (TE) plays a key role. It is a slow and complex process that is part of a multidisciplinary program in which the patient is the main actor in his or her management. ET must be carried out early, especially after acute episodes, in order to better target etiologies and prevent re-hospitalization. The first objective of our research was to assess the knowledge of heart failure patients regarding their background disease and specific recommendations. During the emergency room management, we were also able to identify the major factors of decompensation as well as the interrelated factors. This step allowed us to conduct targeted therapeutic education sessions, with particular emphasis on the decompensation factor(s). The interviews took place after clinical improvement.