REmoTe TelenURsiNg on Lung Function of Heart Failure Outpatients

Pulmonary dysfunction presented in patients with heart failure is observed as a decrease of maximal aerobic capacity compared to healthy people. Lung function deterioration manifests, in the presence of muscle fatigue and dyspnea on exertion, loss of functional capacity, and activities limitation of daily living. Those manifestation influence the perception of quality of life of patients1. Patients with heart failure need to develop changes in lifestyle and daily activities aiming to maintain clinical control and prevent the onset of complications and disabilities. If these changes are not often performed, they might carry bigger burden to for the individual and their family and for the healthcare system due to increasing of morbidity and mortality between those patients2. Systematic reviews conducted in developed countries (USA3, UK4 and Canada5) and developing countries (Colombia6) have shown that telehealth can produce positive effects in individuals with chronic diseases as heart failure. This kind of intervention seems to be effective in preventing hospitalizations and non-elective emergency visits. In Brazil, telenursing is still a non-standardized and non-diffused intervention. In this perspective, telenursing represents soft new tools to provide quality care. It certainly allows the orientation and training of patients, the permanence of them at home, reduces unnecessary hospitalization. Additionally, this intervention, allows the management of nursing time and strengthens their professional autonomy7. The principal aim of this study is to describe the protocol to be used in MRE study. The objective of MRE trial is to test the hypothesis that telenursing contributes to the improvement in lung function over the medium term, in patients with heart failure under continuous education.