Abstract

Introduction: Cardiovascular diseases are the main cause of death in the world. Heart failure is one of the most common cardiovascular diseases that is the typical end-stage of heart diseases with an overall mortality higher than other chronic diseases. The cause of death is the exacerbation of heart failure and sudden death due to ventricular arrhythmias. These factors lead to insecurity feelings in a patient about the time of death and the type of death. The present study was conducted to seek and describe the concerns of patients with heart failure about death in order to better understand their needs. Method: This qualitative study was designed based on content analysis. Comprehensive and in-depth interviews were conducted on 15 patients with heart failure. Data analysis was performed with codification and the codes were studied and reviewed in order to extract their common concepts in terms of categories and sub-categories. Results: 15 People, including 7 females and 8 males were enrolled. The results were divided into six general categories, each of which was divided into some subcategories. The main categories were: grief, fear, the need for a soothing relationship, life, and death, coping with the disease, device as a scary savior. Discussion and Conclusions: The extracted concepts showed that the experience of living with heart failure is a complex phenomenon whose psychological aspects of care need more attention. The medical team plays a key role in resolving or even exacerbating the psychological problems of the disease. The support services for patients with heart failure will increase comfort, restoration of confidence, and quality of life improvement.