Pacientes con dispositivo de asistencia ventricular, perspectiva de los cuidadores

Abstract

Introduction and objective: Ventricular Assist Devices (VAD) constitute a successful therapy in patients with heart failure in advanced stages. Caregivers of patients with these devices play a key role, their quality of life and patient's care being both affected. The aim is to know about the experiences of VAD patient caregivers. Material and Methods: A bibliographic review was done in PubMed, Cinahl, PsycINFO, Psychology and Behavioral and Cochrane Library. The terms: caregiver, experience and «Ventricular Assist Device» were combined with the booleans AND and OR. The limits set were the language (English and Spanish) and the time of publication (last 10 years). In addition, professional journals were revised, nally selecting 12 articles. Results: They were classied into three topics: A) VAD as a life-changing event: caregivers report they nd themselves in a constant «roller-coaster ride». B) Changes in the role: there is a loss of the usual role in the family, along with psychological and emotional challenges. C) An adaptation process: caregivers adopt an attitude of resilience, managing to improve negative feelings such as stress and fear, although they do not disappear completely. Discussion and/or Conclusions: VAD patient caregivers experience an important transformation in their lives. Nurses must develop new strategies to provide these caregivers with support. With this aim, future research should focus on the development of training programs on how to address in practice this population's needs.