Elements of effective palliative care interventions in advanced heart failure: A narrative review

People with advanced heart failure experience significant biopsychosocial needs and have a poor prognosis. International guidelines have called for integrating palliative care in heart failure management. This review explores the elements of effective palliative care interventions in advanced heart failure. PubMed, Embase, CINAHL and Cochrane Reviews were searched following an a priori review protocol for clinical trials of advanced heart failure and palliative care. The risk of bias was assessed using Risk of Bias 2 (RoB2). A qualitative, emergent approach was used to synthesize context + mechanism = outcome. Twenty-one papers from 18 studies were the data source. The efficacy of palliative care in advanced heart failure was mixed. Five studies reported significant improvement in health outcomes compared with the usual care control group. Timing may be necessary in accounting for improvement in quality of life (occurring on or about 3 months) and functional and symptomatic improvements (occurring on or about 6 months or longer). Effective models of secondary palliative care in advanced heart failure include interdisciplinary teams comprising primary care, cardiology and palliative care, routine check-ins, personalized care plans that explore goals, evidence-based symptom management and counselling. Integrating palliative care with heart failure management could improve patient outcomes. Future research and policy development may wish to consider when, how and what palliative care modalities are to be incorporated into the care of patients with advanced heart failure.