Heart failure (HF) is a life-limiting illness and presents as a gradual functional decline with intermittent episodes of acute deterioration and some recovery. In addition, HF often occurs in conjunction with other chronic diseases, resulting in complex comorbidities. Hospital readmissions for HF, including emergency department (ED) visits, are considered preventable. Majority of the patients with HF are often discharged early in the recovery period with inadequate self-care instructions. To address these issues, transitional care interventions have been implemented with the common objective of reducing the rate of hospital readmission, including ED visits. However, there is a lack of evidence regarding the benefits and adverse effects of transitional care interventions on clinical outcomes and patient-related outcomes of patients with HF. This integrative review aims to identify the components of transitional care interventions and the effectiveness of these interventions in improving health outcomes of patients with HF. Five databases were searched from

Atrial Fibrillation (AF) patients could reduce their risk of stroke by using oral antithrombotic therapy. However, many older people with AF experience cognitive impairment and have limited health literacy, which can lead to non-adherence to antithrombotic treatment. This study aimed to investigate the influence of cognitive impairment and health literacy on non-adherence to antithrombotic therapy. The study performed a secondary analysis of baseline data from a cross-sectional survey of AF patients’ self-care behaviors at a tertiary university hospital in 2018. Data were collected from a total of 277 AF patients aged 65 years and older, through self-reported questionnaires administered by face-to-face interviews. Approximately 50.2% of patients were non-adherent to antithrombotic therapy. Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that cognitive impairment independently increased the risk of non-adherence to antithrombotic therapy (odds ratio = 2.628, 95% confidence interval = 1.424–4.848) after adjustment for confounding factors. However, health literacy was not associated with non-adherence to antithrombotic therapy. Cognitive impairment is a significant risk factor for poor adherence to antithrombotic therapy. Thus, health professionals should periodically assess both cognitive function after AF diagnosis and adherence to medication in older patients. Further studies are needed to identify the factors that affect cognitive decline and non-adherence among AF patients.

Background: Medication adherence after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is essential to preventing the risk of restenosis. Even though Type D personality and depression have been known to affect medication non-adherence, their combined influence on PCI patients remains unclear. Aim: We aimed to identify how both Type D personality and depression were associated with medication non-adherence for 3 months after successful PCI. Methods: This prospective cohort study included 257 PCI patients, who took 3 or more cardiac medications, at a university hospital. We measured sociodemographic and clinical variables, Type D personality, depression, and medication non-adherence using face-to-face interviews and medical record reviews. Results: The total prevalence of medication non-adherence at the one- and three-month follow-ups was 14% and 16%, respectively. At one month, the prevalence of those with a combination of Type D personality and depression (23.4%) and depression alone (24%) was significantly higher than other groups. At three months, the prevalence of the Type D personality-only group (39.1%) was the highest. Type D personality increased the risk of medication non-adherence 5.089 times at three months, while depression increased it 2.6 times at one month. However, the risk of medication non-adherence was not increased in patients with combined Type D personality and depression. Conclusions: Individual assessments of Type D personality and depression are required. Therefore, psychological interventions focusing on personality and depression are crucial. Longitudinal follow-up studies must explore the interaction or individual impact of Type D personality and depression on medication non-adherence and other negative outcomes.

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Atrial fibrillation (AF), common in older adults, increases the risk of heart failure, stroke, and all-cause mortality. Self-care behaviors help avoid adverse events in older patients with AF. However, while frailty and cognitive impairment can contribute to poor self-care behaviors, few studies have explored these relationships in older adults with AF. This cross-sectional study aims to determine associations between frailty, cognitive impairment, and self-care behaviors among older adults with AF by gender. A total of 298 patients with AF aged 60 and over were assessed with a self-reported questionnaire consisting of the Korean version of the FRAIL scale, modified mini-mental state examination, and self-care scale for AF. Prevalence of frailty and prefrailty in men and women was around 11% and 48.4% and 28% and 47.4%, respectively. According to the hierarchical linear regression analysis, in men, prefrailty (β = −2.874, p = 0.013) and frailty (β = −7.698, p < 0.001) were associated with self-care behaviors; in women, frailty (β = −5.476, p = 0.003), and cognitive impairment (β = −3.350, p = 0.044) were associated with self-care behaviors. Developing individualized care plans will require periodic screening of older patients with AF to determine their frailty status and cognitive function.