Heart Failure in Hispanic Americans: Improving Cultural Awareness

Abstract

Hispanic Americans are the largest and fastest growing ethnic group in the United States. Hispanic Americans have high rates of heart failure (HF) risk factors, such as hypertension, diabetes mellitus, obesity, obstructive sleep disorders, and dyslipidemia. Certain unique HF risk factors prominent among Hispanic Americans are uncommon in the general population, such as younger onset of valvular disease and Chagas disease. Advanced practice nurses providing care to Hispanic Americans have an ethical obligation to provide culturally competent care and assist these patients in overcoming barriers to health care so that they can effectively manage their HF.

Cardiovascular Health Among an Underserved Population

“…9 As the Hispanic population increases, so will the prevalence of diseases linked to chronic illnesses such as diabetes, uncontrolled hypertension, dyslipidemia, and obesity. 10 Data analysis of the cardiovascular risk among the Hispanic population is challenging owing to the fact that multiethnic data are frequently unreported and are focused on only one ethnicity, such as Mexican Americans.…”

A multimodal technology intervention for heart failure patients to reduce readmissions

“…It has been well-established that as many as 50% of HF patients frequently report clinically subjective depressive symptoms such as hopelessness, low energy, and/or depressed mood. [46] Typically, these symptoms worsen in association with increasing HF symptomatology [35] resulting in reduced quality of self-care. [47] Nurses are ideally positioned to assess HF patients for existing depression and assure that appropriate follow-up treatment including both counseling and pharmacological interventions is initiated to effectively manage the depression.…”