Dolansky and Moore are part of a team of researchers in nursing who examine how people manage their illnesses and have advanced knowledge about self-management through research projects at the nursing school's NIH-funded Center Self-Management Advancement through Research and Translation (SMART Center).

A potential hidden cognitive problem among HF patients is the inability to make decisions about what to do if their condition changes. For example, HF patients who have a cognitive problem and who experience sudden weight gain may not think to notify their physician. Over time, their condition will worsen, thus resulting in an unnecessary trip to the emergency room.

The researchers will administer a number of psychological tests that can reveal hidden impairments.

Then the patients will be monitored for how well they adhere to their medications, diet, and weight levels for 21 days. They will have follow-up monitoring at 3, 6, 9 and 12 months.

"Our findings will have important implications for screening heart failure patients and understanding how we can best intervene to help patients self-manage their heart failure," Hughes adds.

New interventions or medications can be designed to help people keep on track with all the different things they have to do to keep healthy and stay out of the hospital.

Source: Case Western Reserve University