Symptoms Experienced at Home and Self-Care Requisites of Patients After Heart Transplantation: A Retrospective Study

Abstract

Heart transplantation is the most important treatment option in end-stage heart failure, and heart transplant recipients should be monitored at home by healthcare professionals in terms of symptoms and self-care requisites. The aim of this study is to examine symptoms and self-care requisites of patients with heart transplantation after discharge. Symptoms and self-care requisites of 81 patients who had heart transplantation between 2015 and 2020 were evaluated retrospectively in this study. Survey data were collected using the telephone interview method. It was determined that 77.8% of the patients were male and their mean age was 41.87 ± 2.51 years. Fatigue (91.4%), pain in the back, neck, and joints (86.4%), restlessness/agitation (81.5%), weight gain (71.6%), and edema in the lower extremities (71.6%) were the first 5 common symptoms experienced at home after heart transplantation. It was also found that the vast majority of patients (80.2%) answered negatively to the question of eliminating the lack of knowledge about the disease, and some of the patients were found not to pay attention to some important issues (e.g., regular blood pressure check, quitting smoking, etc.). Findings revealed that patients with heart transplantation experience a series of symptoms, and their self-care requisites were mostly focused on education and information specific to the disease after discharge. As a part of public health nursing practices, home care concentrating on symptoms and learning needs of patients should be planned and organized with a multidisciplinary approach to decrease rehospitalization and contribute to cost-effectiveness after heart transplantation.