Adhesión al tratamiento y calidad de vida en los pacientes con insuficiencia cardiaca

Heart failure is a significant public health problem in developed countries. Both the number of hospitalizations and the costs associated with treating these patients have increased markedly during the last two decades. The principal component of these healthcare costs is that due to successive rehospitalization, which could account for as much as 70% of the total. One of the main causes of decompensation and, therefore, of hospital admission is poor treatment compliance by the patient. That is, the extent to which the patient complies with a series of medical instructions that usually also relates to complex pharmacological treatment. It is essential that both medical and psychological factors that can lead to poor treatment compliance are identified and that steps are taken to modify them. A combination of methods, such as a guided clinical interview and recording the quantity of unused drugs, could, in selected patients, be a good way of assessing actual treatment compliance. In addition, systematic evaluation of the quality of life of patients with heart failure is also very useful in planning patient care; it can predict treatment responses and aid therapeutic decision-making.