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Heart Failure Treatment and Management / Diabetes Management and Education · Journal article
European Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing · July 1, 2026
Well-designed and adequately powered for the question it asks.
The EduStra-HF trial enrolled 297 patients with acute heart failure and randomized them to intensive nurse-led patient education or usual care. Despite a neutral primary endpoint on rehospitalization, the intervention produced clinically significant improvements in health-related quality of life, mental well-being, disease knowledge, and self-care behaviours at one year.
Multicentre, randomized controlled trial. Patients discharged from hospital after acute HF episode; enrolled between 2017 and 2022 across six cardiology departments; mean age 72.4 years (SD 13.2), 63.6% male, median LVEF 38% (IQR 25–51).. Intervention: Intensive patient education programme led by HF specialized nurses: 6 telephone calls, 2 home visits, and regular disease-related advice via text messages throughout one-year follow-up.. Compared with: Usual care.. n = 297. Six cardiology departments (country/countries not specified in abstract)..
KCCQ-15 social limitation score increased from 43.7 to 61.4 in intervention group (p 0.0001), with no change in usual care SF-12 mental score increased from 41.3 to 46.3 in intervention group (p=0.0008), no change in usual care Daily surveillance of HF alert signs: 63.9% intervention vs 29.4% usual care (p 0.0001)
Only 27% of patients received ≥50% GDMT expected dose, limiting optimal pharmacotherapy synergy.
Clinicians should consider intensive nurse-led education programmes as an effective intervention to improve quality of life, disease knowledge, and self-management behaviours in acute heart failure patients, particularly for enhancing mental well-being and medication understanding. However, the neutral primary endpoint on rehospitalization suggests education alone may not reduce readmission risk without concurrent improvements in guideline-directed medical therapy implementation.
Multicentre RCT with 297 analysed patients showing significant improvements in quality of life, patient knowledge, and self-management skills with intensive nurse-led education, though the primary endpoint on rehospitalization was neutral.
As stated by the source record.
Quoted from the source exactly as published.
Clinicians should consider intensive nurse-led education programmes as an effective intervention to improve quality of life, disease knowledge, and self-management behaviours in acute heart failure patients, particularly for enhancing mental well-being and medication understanding. However, the neutral primary endpoint on rehospitalization suggests education alone may not reduce readmission risk without concurrent improvements in guideline-directed medical therapy implementation.
Graded across the dimensions that decide whether you should act, each from what the source actually supports. There is no single score, and where a dimension was not assessed it says so.
Abstract Background Heart failure (HF) remains a major public health issue affecting daily living and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) largely due to the risk of rehospitalizations, some of which could be avoidable through an improvement in self-care management strategies. Purpose The EduStra-HF study aimed to assess an intensive patient-education programme conducted by specialized nurses in patients discharged from hospital after an episode of acute HF. Methods Patients admitted for acute HF in six cardiology departments were randomly assigned to intervention, consisting on an intensive patient education follow-up leaded by HF specialized nurses, or usual care. Patients in the intervention group received 6 telephone calls, 2 home-visits and regular advice about their disease by text messages throughout their one-year follow-up. Primary endpoint (comparison of first HF rehospitalization between the two groups) has been previously published. This study focuses on pre-specified secondary endpoints: HRQoL, patients’ knowledge and skills for HF daily management and rate of guideline-directed medical therapies (GDMT). Results Between 2017 and 2022, 318 patients were enrolled in the trial and 297 could be included in the intention-to-treat analysis; 144 patients were randomly assigned to the intervention group and 153 to usual care. Mean age was 72.4 years (SD 13.2), 63.6% of patients were men. Median left ventricular ejection fraction was 38% (interquartile range 25–51). HRQoL assessed by the Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire (KCCQ-15) increased significantly between baseline and one year. The increase was notably greater for the social limitation score (43.7 vs 61.4; p 0.0001), whereas no significant difference was observed in the usual care group. The mental score of the 12-item short-form (SF-12) survey also increased in the intervention group between baseline and 1 year (41.3 vs 46.3; p=0.0008), whereas no difference was found in the usual care group. The intervention improves significantly in comparison with usual care the daily surveillance of HF alert signs (63.9% vs 29.4%; p 0.0001), understanding of medications (complete understanding, 51.3% vs 17.7%; p 0.0001) and compliance to physical activity recommendations (total compliance, 86.6% vs 55.9%; p 0.0001). Regarding GDMT prescription rates, 73% of patients in the overall population received less than 50% of the expected dose at one year. The result on the primary endpoint was neutral. Conclusion The EduStra-HF study showed a significant lasting improvement in HRQoL, despite the low rate of GDMT prescription observed. Patients’ mental well-being, knowledge and self-care management increased significantly in patients discharged after an acute HF episode who benefited from an intensive patient education programme conducted by HF specialized nurses.
Taken from the source record, never inferred. Follow any of these and new work involving them reaches your briefing.