Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2002 Dec;102(12):1790-4.
doi: 10.1016/s0002-8223(02)90384-6.

Demonstrating the impact of nutrition intervention in a heart failure program

Toni Kuehneman  1 , Deborah Saulsbury, Patricia Splett, Douglas B Chapman
Affiliations

Demonstrating the impact of nutrition intervention in a heart failure program

Toni Kuehneman et al. J Am Diet Assoc. 2002 Dec.

Abstract

Outpatient heart failure centers using a multidisciplinary approach to management of heart failure are recognized as essential to decreasing costs of treating heart failure. These centers do not typically employ registered dietitians. With hospital foundation funding, our objective was to develop the role of the dietitian and to evaluate the impact of nutrition intervention in a multidisciplinary heart failure program. Based on a needs assessment, the dietitian developed and tested a medical nutrition therapy protocol, education materials, and special education projects. Unannounced 24-hour recalls at 3 points in time were used to determine changes in sodium and fluid intakes. An outcome tracking system was implemented. Intake data were analyzed for patients who were in the program 9 or more months (n = 79). Patients' sodium and fluid intakes at 2 to 3 months and 6 to 9 months were compared with their baseline intakes using paired t test. The sodium decrease of 0.5 g at 2 to 3 months and 6 to 9 months and the fluid decrease of 15 oz at 2 to 3 months and 12 oz at 6 to 9 months were all highly significant (P < .001). Patients active in year 3 (n = 82) completed the Minnesota Quality of Life Questionnaire. Compared with baseline, quality of life scores improved by 6.7 points (P < .003) at 3 months and by 5.9 points (P < .04) at 6 months. Of 83 patients hospitalized over 3 years, 6 hospitalizations were the result of an excessive sodium intake. At the completion of the project, the center provided funding for the dietitian to become a permanent team member. These positive findings indicate dietitians should seek involvement in heart failure centers.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

Publication types

Substances

LinkOut - more resources

-