Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: None. Introduction Heart failure is often characterized by low exercise capacity and great impairment on performance in activities of daily living. The correct management of the disease can prevent the worsening of symptoms and promote a better quality of life. Self-care behaviour plays an important role on patient"s quality of life. Aim The aims of this study are to evaluate the self-care behaviour in a sample of heart failure inpatients, using the Self-Care Heart Failure Index (SCHFI) and to understand whether gender and patophisiologic characteristics does interfere on it. Methods Cross-sectional multicenter study enrolling 225 heart failure inpatients from eight hospitals. At admission, patient’s functional capacity was evaluated as well as their self-care behaviour, using the SCHFI Portuguese v6.2. Comparison between self-care behaviour with gender was performed. Also some correaltions were perfomed with the total sample of patients, aiming to understand which were the variables that may interfere with the socre of each sub-scale of the self-care HF index.  Results Patients’ mean age was 68.4 ± 10.7 years old, 68% were male and 82.3% have reduced ejection fraction. A mean value of 47.9, 35.6 and 38.8 points was found in the SCHFI score of the sections self-care maintenance (SCMt), self-care management (SCMg) and self-care confidence (SCC), respectively. Heart failure inpatients present inadequate levels of self-care behaviour. No difference was found between genders on any section of the SCHFI. Among all variables, only the number of CVRFs and the left ventricular ejection fraction had significant differences. Males had better results, but not with a statistically significant difference. Association tests (ANOVA) between different variables and the score of each section of the SCHFI were perfomred. Only in the NYHA there are variables associated with a better self-care, namely in the SCMg (p = 0.011) and in SCC (p = 0.010). Correlations were made using the numeric variables age, CVRF, BI, LCADL, SCMt, SCMg and SCC, in order to understand the influence of the variables with each other. All the three dimesnions present a positive correlation, at 99% confidence interval between them (SCMt with SCMg: r = 0.365, p < 0.000; SCMt with SCC: r = 0.272, p < 0.000 and SCMg with SCC: r = 0.670, p < 0.000). In addition, SCMt presents a positive correlation with age at a 95% confidence interval (r = 0.158, p = 0.018). Negative correlations were found between 1) BI and age (r=-0.151, p = 0.023), at a 95% confidence interval and 2) BI with LCALD (r=-0.407, p < 0.000), at a 99% confidence interval. Regarding NYHA functional class and left ventricular systolic function, only NYHA class II patients present a statistically significant difference in SCMg and SCC comparing to Class III and IV patients (who do not present differences between them).  Conclusion The results do not suggest a relationship between gender and pathophysiological characteristics with self-care behaviour.

Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: None. Background Heart failure (HF) is characterized by functional limitation and consequent loss of quality of life. These parameters can be measured through self-evaluated instruments, namely Duke activity status index (DASI) and Minnesota living with heart failure questionnaire (MLHFQ). In parallel, HF is also characterized by objective parameters measured by complementary diagnostic tests, namely NT-proBNP and left ventricular ejection fraction by echocardiogram. Patients with higher NT-proBNP value and worse ejection fraction may present with more symptoms and consequently functional impairment and worse quality of life. Aim To analyze if self-reported parameters present significant correlation with objective measured parameters and to understand if there are differences between gender in out-patients followed in advanced heart failure assessment. Methods During the year of 2022, a cohort of out-patients was analyzed. Data was collected regarding DASI, MLHFQ and disease stratification based on NT-proBNP and left ventricular ejection fraction by echocardiogram. Pearson's correlation was made between these parameters, trying to understand whether they were related to them and whether this relationship is in line with the patient's clinical presentation. An independent sample T-test was performed in order to understand any differences regarding the gender. Results A sample of 122 patients were evaluated; 97 (80%) were male, with a mean age of 63 years. New York Heart association functional class was between II and III and all patients had reduced left ventricular ejection fraction, with an average of 35% (min: 10% and max: 48%). NT-proBNP scores are quite high, presenting an average score of 1349.7±1482.5. Average score of MLHFQ was 13±15, meaning that patients present a good quality of life and DASI average score was 33.9±16.1, meaning a very acceptable functional capacity level. The DASI score correlates negatively with MLHFQ (r = -0.566, p = 0.003) and with NT-proBNP value (r = -0.783, p = 0.000); MLHFQ score is positively correlated with NT-proBNP value (r = 0.018, p = 0.000). A high DASI score corresponds to good functional capacity and, as such, better quality of life and lower physiological impact of the disease. Surprisingly, despite the lower MLHFQ and high DASI, patients present a quite increase level of NT-proBNP. There were no gender differences in relation to the DASI score (p = 0.077) and MLHFQ (p = 0.422). Conclusion The self-evaluated parameters correlate with the physiological parameters objectively measured. The perception of patients regarding their quality of life and functional capacity may not allow to infer about their physiological parameters, since a high NT-proBNP a low left ventricular ejection fraction normally indicates a worse functional level, which is not observed in this cohort of patients. Gender seems to have no impact on the level of quality of life or self-reported functional capacity.

Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: None. Objective Map the interventions directed to the caregiver of heart disease (HD)patients in cardiac rehabilitation programs (CRP) that promote their role and health. Methods Scoping Review guided by the Joanna Briggs Institute method. Two independent reviewers assessed articles for relevance and extracted and synthesized data. Inclusion criteria comprised articles published in English, Spanish and Portuguese since 1950. The following databases were searched: CINAHL Complete (Via EBSCO); Medline (via PubMed); Scopus, PEDro, e Repositórios Científicos de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (RCAAP). Results From 351 articles retrieved, ten were included in the review. Different interventions were identified directed to the caregiver of HD patients: educational interventions and lifestyle changes, physical exercise, psychological interventions/stress management, and a category "Other" with training interventions in basic life support, elaboration of guidelines/recommendations and training for the role of caregiver. Regarding the population, heart failure patient caregivers are the primary intervention targets, followed by caregivers of patients with ischemic disease and integrated into CRP. Regarding the context, there is a concern that the professional intervention with the caregivers should be mainly at home (home-based), using face-to-face and telehealth monitoring, often combined, with references also to the hospital context, primary health care and rehabilitation center. Conclusions and implications for the clinical practice: It was found that most of the identified cardiac rehabilitation interventions are aimed at the dyad HD patient and caregiver/family. Including specific interventions targeting caregivers improves the caregiver’s health and empowers him/her. Patients care planning should include interventions specifically aimed at them that result into health gains for caregivers and patients, aiming at the quality of care.

Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: None. Introduction Heart Failure patients often present impairment on their functional capacity. Exercise training is the key component of cardiac rehabilitation and must be early implemented. Knowing the characteristics that lead a patient to be a good responder to an exercise intervention would be useful to identify the ones that could benefit from this same intervention. Purpose Identify the characteristics of good responses to an aerobic exercise training in decompensated heart failure (HF) patients and understand if there are gender differences.  Methods Cross sectional study with 76 inpatients who performed an aerobic exercise training program (AET). Functional capacity was evaluated at admission and discharge using three different tools: the London Chest of Activity of Daily Living (LCADL) scale, the Barthel Index (BI) and the 6-minute walking test (6MWT). Multivariate linear regression was performed by gender to understand which variables lead a patient to have better performance. Since it is known that men and women have different responses to exercise training, the results and analysis of the data collected were performed by gender. Results Seventy-six patients (52 men) were included. The mean age was 67 ± 10 years, 15.8% were New York Heart Association (NYHA) class IV and 76.3% had reduced ejection fraction. The major etiology of HF was ischemic disease (35.5%). Six predictive equations were obtained, one for each functional capacity (FC) tool divided by gender. NYHA class III patients do not differ from class IV in terms of FC at discharge. However, HFreduced ejection fraction patients presented higher 6MWT distance (309,6m vs 231m) and lower LCADL score (11 vs 15) compared to non-reduced. Gender analysis showed that women had an average of 4 days longer in-hospital stay and a considerable difference in the 6MWT. At admission women walked 15 meters less than man and at discharge 69 meters less, presenting also lower score at BI and higher at LCADL. However, only the discharge 6MWT distance presents a statistical significant difference (69 meters; p = 0.01). Traditionally women are more sedentary and present less fitness level than men. The linear regression model shows that gender is a independent variable that contributes to the change in the 6MWT - favouring men.  Conclusions The AET program appears to be more effective in younger patients, with low FC at admission and who are less impaired. Those with left systolic ventricular function apparently interfered with progression during the program. Gender influences the performance of patients undergoing exercise training. Men present higher FC at discharge but the predictive models are stronger for women. These results are consistent with the idea that gender plays an important role in determine the performance of patients in exercise training programs.