Resumo (EN)
Objective – To identify the knowledge that heart failure patients have about their disease and how this interferes with your treatment. Methods – It is a survey of exploratory and descriptive quantitative. The survey was conducted between the months of April and May 2014 at the Clinic of the Heart Institute – HCFMUSP in 50 patients with heart failure, the data were obtained through a semi-structured questionnaire containing 22 closed questions. Results – It was observed that 60% (n=30) of respondents know what IC is, however, 34% (n=17) know what caused the condition; 38 (76%) of patients say they have knowledge about the disease, but only 4% (n=2) know how to minimize the symptoms of the disease; 30% (n=15) required 1-2 readmissions within one year. Conclusion – It is evident that knowledge of HF patients regarding their condition is still extremely weak, leading to decompensation of the disease hospitalizations and consequently, increases the impact and cost of treatment nonpharmacological the IC. However, its effectiveness will be achieved only when the treatment was fully understood and accepted by themselves HF patients and their families.