Heart and brain matters in heart failure: a literature review.

Heart failure (HF) patients are reported to have twice the risk of having cognitive deficits compared to the general population. Cognitive impairment in this population may cause non-compliance to prescribed self-care regimens and delay in seeking care that may potentially lead to frequent readmissions. Although cognitive deficit is common among people with HF, cognitive screening is not routinely performed due to lack of a simple screening tool and the misconception that cognitive changes are part of normal aging. Therefore, future research needs to focus on identifying a simple screening tool that nurses can use to screen for subtle changes in cognition including forgetfulness and delayed recall. Early identification of subtle cognitive changes has the potential to guide healthcare providers to formulate feasible strategies to understand and/or prevent a low cardiac output state before major cognitive impairment becomes evident.