Living with moderate-severe chronic heart failure as a middle-aged person was experienced as a life situation characterized by a failing body, a life under threat, and an altered self-image.
What are the lived experiences of middle-aged persons with moderate-severe chronic heart failure?
Middle-aged patients with moderate-severe chronic heart failure experience profound life changes characterized by a failing body, constant threat, and altered self-image, highlighting the need for tailored caregiver support.
In this article the authors describe a study focusing on middle-aged persons living with chronic heart failure (CHF), a group with which few studies have been conducted. They used the lifeworld perspective to focus on persons' lived experiences of the phenomenon, that is, living with moderate-severe CHF as a middle-aged person. They interviewed 7 middle-aged persons (4 men, 3 women; aged 38 to 65 years) and analyzed the data obtained using a phenomenological approach. The phenomenon's essence is described as a life situation characterized by a failing body, a life constantly under threat, a rapidly changing health condition, and an altered self-image, which implies that the persons live in a changed life situation. The essence was further illuminated by three meaning constituents: an ambiguity of the body, losing track of life, and balancing life. Knowledge from this study will help caregivers understand and support patients with this debilitating condition.
Nordgren et al. (Thu,) conducted a other in Moderate-severe chronic heart failure (n=7). Living with moderate-severe chronic heart failure was evaluated on Lived experiences of living with moderate-severe chronic heart failure. Living with moderate-severe chronic heart failure as a middle-aged person was experienced as a life situation characterized by a failing body, a life under threat, and an altered self-image.
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