NurseWeek

Communication gap hinders heart patients

By Grace Tsai, PhD
Health24News
September 11, 2000


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Washington (H24N). Heart disease is the No. 1 killer in America and the industrial world. A patient's knowledge and comfort level with a physician may be crucial in the treatment of the disease. However, researchers in London have found that patients with chronic heart failure have limited knowledge of their disease and often feel uncomfortable asking their physicians about their illness.

In the latest issue of the British Medical Journal, scientists report the findings of a study of 37 heart failure patients aged 38 to 94. All subjects were recruited from outpatient clinics in cardiology and hospital wards in London. The majority of patients lacked a clear understanding of why they had developed heart failure, what it was and what it implied for them. Many actually felt that their symptoms were a result of growing older and believed that nothing could be done.

During the study, patients also gave various reasons why they believed their doctors did not tell them as much about their condition as they would have liked. Some felt doctors generally did not want to give patients too much or inappropriate information about their illness or its treatment.

As one patient put it, "[T]he medical profession do not – even my own doctor and the doctor before that – they don't take you into their confidence. Either they think you are stupid or else not interested."

Other participants also described several barriers to communication with their doctors: difficulty getting to hospital appointments, confusion and short-term memory loss.

The authors of the study suggest that "high levels of depression found among people with chronic heart failure may partly be related to lack of open communication with their doctors." Thus, they suggest that in order to optimize the effectiveness of time spent with physicians, patients are provided with written information and audio and visual materials, as well as a list of written questions.