2020 Heart Failure Awareness Week

KNOW YOUR WHY

The Heart Failure Awareness Campaign for 2020 is themed “Know Your Why” and reaches out to heart failure nurses, patients, and their families to raise awareness and emphasize heart failure patient education from an etiology-specific lens. The aim is to help patients understand their own, specific risk factors and tailor teaching to a patient-centered approach that will allow not only the tertiary management of heart failure sequelae but also to allow some focus on primary prevention regarding these risk factors.

"Know Your Why" Resources

Blood Pressure Education for Patients>>

* BP education: Know the “Why”.
* Why is it important to check my BP every day?
* What are my Blood pressure goals?
* Why are my blood pressure goals different from other heart failure patients and patients who don’t have heart failure?

Care for the Caregiver Tips>>

What to ask at every appointment:
* What are your goals for my family member?
* What are the activity restrictions?
* Are there any medication changes?
* Are there any changes needed to fluid or dietary intake?
* How will we receive our test results?
* When is our next appointment?

Familial Cardiomyopathy Teaching Sheet>>

Cardiomyopathies are diseases in which the heart muscle becomes enlarged, weakened, or stiff, preventing it from working as well as it should. There are different types of cardiomyopathies that run-in families.

How Does Coronary Artery Disease Lead to Heart Failure Teaching Sheet>>

Blood Pressure Education for Nurses>>

* Why do blood pressure monitoring and readings matter for HF patients?
* What is the goal for treating blood pressure?
* What should nurses tell patients about high blood pressure?

Know Your Why Worksheet>>

Heart Failure affects millions of people of all ages and many causes. Understanding your heart failure and its cause is important to help manage your health. This worksheet will help to outline the risk factors that could be contributing to your illness. If you can understand it, you can control it! That’s why AAHFN wants you Know the Why!

Use this daily log to communicate symptoms to your healthcare teams.

What to Teach and How to Teach Badge Buddy

This badge buddy template, details what to teach (weights, diet, activity, fluid, meds, etc…) and evidenced-based ways to teach (teach-back, understanding the client’s health literacy, etc)to improve retention of information and potentially impact readmission and better transition to home.


Click to Download	Click to Download

Sometimes heart failure patients feel alone. Sick and afraid, they worry about the details of their self-care, sometimes without a solid understanding of their situation.Talk to your patients and their caregivers about the community at togetherinHF.com. The moderated community site offers support and an avenue for listening ears and advice about living with heart failure. Nurses and providers are welcome to join too!

Taking Care of my Heart Failure

Click Here to download the calendar

Self Care

• Use the self-care zone tool, call early when you have symptoms.
• Follow diet/fluid restrictions.
• Use the daily log to record your numbers every day.

Medications>>

• Take every dose, every day.
• Consult a provider before holding or increasing a dose.
• Do not forget to refill prescriptions.

Follow up Care

• Keep all appointments.
• Call to notify your provider if you are having symptoms, you may need an appointment.
• Bring medications in their bottles to your appointments.