End-of-life care in patients with heart failure

摘要

Heart failure is a chronic condition with a high mortality rate. Despite that, many patients with this disease do not receive optimal end-of-life care. This review discusses some of the complex issues surrounding end-of-life care for heart failure patients, including the difficulty in predicting prognosis for any given patient and the increasing use of device therapy. The review also discusses issues with regard to patient-provider communication for heart failure patients, as well as symptom relief for those with advanced disease.