Objectives: Longer life expectancies imply increased prevalence of heart failure. Blittle is known about the maintenance of disease specific knowledge following patient education. Our aim was to investigate if self-care and heart failure knowledge persists at 9 month follow up among patients with heart failure after an outpatient programme in the Faroe Islands. Methods: A prospective cohort study with patients recently diagnosed with heart failure were recruited and evaluated by questionnaire at baseline, after 3 and 9 months using The European Heart Failure Self-Care Behaviour Scale and the Dutch Heart Failure Knowledge Scale. Clinical and demographic information was collected. Results: Seven (15%) women and 40 (85%) men with heart failure and NYHA > 2 were included. There was an overall improvement in patients' self-care from baseline 25 (8) to 3 months 15 (5) and to 9 months (16 (45); both p < 0.001). Mean knowledge score 10 (3) improved to 13 (2) at 3 months and 12 (2) at 9 months (both p < 0.001). Conclusions: Disease specific patient education is applicable to heart failure patients, which can produce persistent improvements in self-care and knowledge after multidisciplinary outpatient programme. Practice Implications: Multidisciplinary outpatient programmes are beneficial for patients with heart failure and alters disease specific knowledge and self-care.

Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) activity may be one determinant of adaptability to exercise training, but well-controlled studies in humans without confounding conditions are lacking. Thus, the purpose of the present study was to investigate whether ACE inhibition affects cardiovascular adaptations to exercise training in healthy humans. Healthy participants of both genders (40 ± 7 years) completed a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Eight weeks of exercise training combined with placebo (PLA, n = 25) or ACE inhibitor (ACEi, n = 23) treatment was carried out. Before and after the intervention, cardiovascular characteristics were investigated. Mean arterial blood pressure was reduced (p < 0.001) by −5.5 [−8.4; −2.6] mmHg in ACE i , whereas the 0.7 [−2.0; 3.5] mmHg fluctuation in PLA was non-significant. Maximal oxygen uptake

Primary carnitine deficiency (PCD) not treated with L-Carnitine can lead to sudden cardiac death. To our knowledge, it is unknown if asymptomatic patients treated with L-Carnitine suffer from myocardial scarring and thus be at greater risk of potentially serious arrhythmia. Cardiac evaluation of function and myocardial scarring is non-invasively best supported by cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) with late gadolinium enhancement (LGE). The study included 36 PCD patients, 17 carriers and 17 healthy subjects. A CMR cine stack in the short-axis plane were acquired to evaluate left ventricle (LV) systolic and diastolic function and a similar LGE stack to evaluate myocardial scarring and replacement fibrosis. LV volumes and ejection fraction were not different between PCD patients, carriers and healthy subjects. However, LV mass was higher in PCD patients with the severe homozygous mutation, c.95 A > G (p = 0.037; n = 17). Among homozygous PCD patients there were two cases of unexplained myocardial scarring and this is in contrast to no myocardial scarring in any of the other study participants (p = 0.10). LV mass was increased in PCD patients. L-carnitine supplementation is essential in order to prevent potentially lethal cardiac arrhythmia and serious adverse cardiac remodeling.

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This qualitative study draws attention to the symbolic value of driving or having a valid driver's licence among older adults as part of their impression management. While several studies have focused on driving behaviour, safety, risk factors and not least the consequences of driving cessation, the present study from the Faroe Islands contributes to the body of knowledge concerning older adults and driving by bringing an impression management lens to this issue. Social constructionism formed both the theoretical and methodological approach and data came from interviews with three couples and eight individuals in their eighties. All the male participants still had their driver's licence and were active drivers except for one. Among the women, four had driver's licences and three were active drivers. Our findings point to the necessity of understanding the reluctance to give up driving as being not only related to quality of life, mobility and independence, but also being highly related to preserving one's identity as a competent and ‘not that old’ person. Contrary to common prejudices against older drivers, the findings also showed that these participants reported self-regulation adjustments to continue driving safely. The study indicates a need to support older drivers to continue driving if they wish to do so. It is not only a question of mobility or being independent, but also related to preserving one's social identity in later life.