A nurse-based strategy reduces heart failure morbidity in patients admitted for acute decompensated heart failure in Brazil: the HELEN-II clinical trial.

Aims: Home-based interventions for heart failure (HF) patients might be particularly effective in middle-income countries, where social, cultural, and economic constraints limit the effectiveness of HF treatment outside the hospital environment.

Methods And Results: HELEN-II was a randomized clinical trial conducted in Brazil designed to evaluate the clinical efficacy of a nurse-based strategy, started after discharge following an acute decompensated HF (ADHF) admission. HELEN-II compares the efficacy of home visits and telephone reinforcement (n = 123) with that of the conventional strategy, which is based on medical follow-up (n = 129).