Feeling like you’ve lost your social role, such as caring for loved ones, is associated with a poorer prognosis for patients with heart failure. It would therefore be important to take into account the social commitment in care.
- We speak of heart failure when the heart muscle can no longer ensure the propulsion of blood in the body.
- According to estimates, more than 1.5 million French people suffer from heart failure. Those most affected are the over 60s.
- The disease is responsible for 200,000 hospitalizations per year.
Feeling useless to family, friends or colleagues would not be good for the heart. A new study reveals that heart failure patients who felt they no longer had a social role were more likely to have a poor prognosis.
Heart failure: the social role plays on the diagnosis
In order to assess the consequences of social frailty on heart health, Japanese researchers asked more than 300 patients with heart failure over the age of 65 to respond to the Makizako test. The latter assesses the strength of social ties through five questions. A negative response to two or more of them is an indicator of social fragility. The volunteers were followed for three years after their admission to hospital for their heart problems.
“We found that a patient’s perceived social role, as well as their overall social frailty, were associated with adverse long-term clinical outcomes in elderly patients with heart failure. added to the probability of a negative prognosis”explained Dr. Satoshi Katano of Sapporo Medical University Hospital and lead author of this research published in Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine.
Incorporate social links into tracking
Scientists recognize that social interactions can vary from culture to culture. However, it is likely, they say, that social fragility has a negative impact on the health of older patients with heart failure in all societies. They believe that it is therefore essential to take into account the social life of the patient when taking charge of his cardiac disorder.
“The next important step is to develop programs to help elderly patients with heart failure and social frailty. Participation in household chores and social activities – such as involvement in voluntary organizations that serve to help others – may help improve social role perception in individuals with heart failure. These lifestyle changes will help older patients live longer, healthier and more productive lives.”says the expert.
