Experiencing the possibility of near death on a daily basis: A phenomenological study of patients with chronic heart failure.

Heart Lung

School of Nursing, Department of Nursing Care for Adult Patients, Universidad de Navarra, Campus Universitario, c/ Irunlarrea 1, 31008 Pamplona, Navarra, Spain; Innovation for a Person-Centred Care Research Group (ICCP-UNAV), Universidad de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain; IdiSNA, Navarra Institute for Health Research. Pamplona, Spain. Electronic address:

Published: May 2022

Background: Chronic heart failure (CHF) is a syndrome that greatly impacts people's lives. Due to the poor prognosis of CHF, together with the frequent exacerbations of symptoms, death is a topic that is very present in the lives of patients with CHF.

Objective: To explore thoughts about death experienced by patients with chronic heart failure in their daily lives.

Methods: A hermeneutic phenomenological study was carried out. Conversational interviews were conducted with 20 outpatients with chronic heart failure. Analysis of the responses was based on the method proposed by van Manen.

Results: From the analysis, four main themes emerged: (1) Feeling afraid of the possibility of dying; (2) Acceptance of the possibility of death; (3) Desiring death for relief from suffering; and (4) Striving to continue living to enjoy family.

Conclusions: This study presents, as a novel finding, that people with CHF experience the possibility of near death on a daily basis. This experience, which they must encounter on their own, makes them afraid. In addition, some of them, in view of the discomfort they are living, wish to die, with some even considering committing suicide.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.hrtlng.2021.08.006DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

chronic heart
16
heart failure
16
possibility death
12
death daily
8
daily basis
8
phenomenological study
8
patients chronic
8
death
6
experiencing possibility
4
basis phenomenological
4

Similar Publications

Economic burden of Type 2 diabetes in Iran in 2022.

BMC Public Health

January 2025

Department of Health Management, Policy & Economics, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

Background: Diabetes mellitus, particularly Type 2 diabetes (T2D), represents a significant global health challenge, with its prevalence steadily rising over the past few decades. This study was conducted with the aim of estimating the economic burden of T2D in Iran.

Methods: This study employed a prevalence-based approach to estimate the economic burden of T2D and its attributable complications in adults above 20 years old in Iran for 2022.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Factors related to the progression of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a retrospective case-control study.

BMC Pulm Med

January 2025

Department of Geriatrics, Harrison International Peace Hospital, Intersection of Renmin Road, Hongqi Street, Taocheng District, Hengshui City, Hebei Province, 053000, China.

Objectives: To explore the factors related to the progression of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Methods: 80 COPD patients treated between January 2020 and December 2022. The patients' pulmonary functions at their first hospital admission were categorized into four groups: Grade I, Grade II, Grade III and Grade IV.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The growing range of complications of diabetes mellitus.

Trends Endocrinol Metab

January 2025

School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.

With the rising prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and obesity, several previously under-recognised complications associated with T2DM are becoming more evident. The most common of these emerging complications are metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), cancer, dementia, sarcopenia, and frailty, as well as other conditions involving the lung, heart, and intestinal tract. Likely causative factors are chronic inflammation and insulin resistance, whereas blood glucose levels appear to play a lesser role.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Tetrahydroberberrubine improves hyperlipidemia by activating the AMPK/SREBP2/PCSK9/LDL receptor signaling pathway.

Eur J Pharmacol

January 2025

State Key Laboratory of Frigid Zone Cardiovascular Diseases (SKLFZCD), Department of Pharmacology, College of Pharmacy, and Department of Cardiology, the Second Affiliated Hospital, Harbin Medical University, Harbin 150081, China; State Key Labratoray-Province Key Laboratories of Biomedicine-Pharmaceutics of China, and Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Research, Ministry of Education, College of Pharmacy, Harbin 150081, China; Research Unit of Noninfectious Chronic Diseases in Frigid Zone (2019RU070), Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Harbin 150081, China. Electronic address:

Hyperlipidemia is a major risk factor for hypertension, coronary heart disease, diabetes and stroke, triggering an intensified research efforts into its prevention and treatment. Tetrahydroberberrubine (THBru) is a derivative of berberine (BBR) that has been shown to have higher bioavailability and lower toxicity compared to its parent compound. However, its impact on hyperlipidemia has not been fully explored.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Comparing autonomic nervous system function in patients with functional somatic syndromes, stress-related syndromes and healthy controls.

J Psychosom Res

December 2024

REVAL - Rehabilitation Research Center, Faculty of Rehabilitation Sciences, Hasselt University, Diepenbeek, Belgium; Health Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium. Electronic address:

Background: The goal of this study was to examine autonomic nervous system function by measuring heart rate (HR), heart rate variability (HRV), skin conductance levels (SCL), and peripheral skin temperature (ST) in response to and during recovery from psychosocial stressors in patients with functional somatic syndromes (FSS; fibromyalgia and/or chronic fatigue syndrome), stress-related syndromes (SRS; overstrain or burn-out), and healthy controls (HC).

Methods: Patients with FSS (n = 26), patients with SRS (n = 59), and HC (n = 30) went through a standardized psychosocial stress test consisting of a resting phase (120 s), the STROOP color word task (120 s), a mental arithmetic task (120 s) and a stress talk (120 s), each followed by a 120 s recovery period. HR, HRV, SCL, and ST were monitored continuously.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!