Cognitive Impairment in Heart Failure

In Brief Heart failure is reaching epidemic proportions in the United States, causing a constellation of disabling symptoms. Cognitive impairment in people with heart failure may be more common than previously known with multiple etiologies from both the disease process and the treatment. Exemplars from a research study are used to illustrate the perspective of heart failure patients. Given the critical importance of memory deficits on patient education, potential nursing interventions to address the issue of cognitive impairment are described. Heart failure is an all too common disorder in the United States. Cognitive impairment in people with heart failure may be more common than previously known. This article presents nursing interventions to address this issue of cognitive impairment.