Recommendations Summary

HF: Educate on Self-Care (2017)

Click here to see the explanation of recommendation ratings (Strong, Fair, Weak, Consensus, Insufficient Evidence) and labels (Imperative or Conditional). To see more detail on the evidence from which the following recommendations were drawn, use the hyperlinks in the Supporting Evidence Section below.

• Recommendation(s)

  HF: Educate on Self-Care for Adults with Heart Failure (NYHA Classes I-IV/AHA Stages B, C and D)

  For adults with heart failure (NYHA Classes I - IV/AHA Stages B, C and D), the registered dietitian nutritionist (RDN) should educate on self-care, on topics such as, but not limited to:

  • Appropriate eating plan based on stage and class of heart failure, as well as other comorbidities
  • Energy and protein intake
  • Sodium and fluid intake
  • Physical activity
  • Self-monitoring of weight and symptoms 

  Adults with heart failure should receive specific education to facilitate heart failure self-care.

  Rating: Fair
  Imperative

  • Risks/Harms of Implementing This Recommendation

    None.

  • Conditions of Application

    None.

  • Potential Costs Associated with Application

    Costs of medical nutrition therapy (MNT) sessions and reimbursement vary; however, MNT sessions are essential for improved outcomes.

  • Recommendation Narrative

    From the 2013 ACCF/AHA Guideline for the Management of Heart Failure (HF):
    
    7.3. Stage C
    7.3.1. Nonpharmacological Interventions
    7.3.1.1. Education: Recommendation
    
    Class I

    • Patients with HF should receive specific education to facilitate HF self-care. (Level of Evidence: B)

  • Recommendation Strength Rationale

    • The 2013 ACCF/AHA Guideline for the Management of Heart Failure received Level of Evidence B

  • Minority Opinions

    Consensus reached.

• Supporting Evidence

  The recommendations were created from the evidence analysis on the following questions. To see detail of the evidence analysis, click the blue hyperlinks below (recommendations rated consensus will not have supporting evidence linked).

  • References
  • References not graded in Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Evidence Analysis Process

    Yancy CW, Jessup M, Bozkurt B, Butler J, Casey DE Jr, Drazner MH, Fonarow GC, Geraci SA, Horwich T, Januzzi JL, Johnson MR, Kasper EK, Levy WC, Masoudi FA, McBride PE, McMurray JJV, Mitchell JE, Peterson PN, Riegel B, Sam F, Stevenson LW, Tang WHW, Tsai EJ, Wilkoff BL. 2013 ACCF/AHA guideline for the management of heart failure: a report of the American College of Cardiology Foundation/American Heart Association Task Force on Practice Guidelines. Circulation. 2013;128:e240–e327.