Authors
- Lidija Ban — University Hospital Centre “Sestre milosrdnice”, Zagreb, Croatia — ORCID: 0000-0001-5693-7394
- Ivana Tomašić — University Hospital Centre “Sestre milosrdnice”, Zagreb, Croatia — ORCID: 0000-0002-7345-5829
- Božica Leško — University Hospital Centre “Sestre milosrdnice”, Zagreb, Croatia — ORCID: 0000-0001-7423-3999
- Vesna Slonjšak — University Hospital Centre “Sestre milosrdnice”, Zagreb, Croatia — ORCID: 0000-0001-6342-7771
Keywords
heart failure, hyperthyreoidism, nurses care
DOI
https://doi.org/10.15836/ccar2016.571Full Text
Heart failure is a complex clinical syndrome that regardless of the diseases’ etiology is characterized by inability of the heart to receive and pump the blood thus meeting the metabolic needs of the body. Heart failure treatment often requires the introduction of amiodarone into therapy, which can, in some patients, cause the hyper production of thyroid gland hormones. (1, 2) Thyroid gland controls the metabolism through hormones (the way the body uses energy, breathing, heart rhythm, systemic nervous system, body weight, body temperature and many other functions in the body). Therefore, the occurrence of hyperthyroidism in patients with heart failure leads to progression of heart failure and further deterioration of patient health. Nurses’ care for such patients is more complex and involves timely implementation of therapy, daily physical examination, control of vital functions, keeping the balance of fluids, weight control, telemetric monitoring, psychological support. It is of utmost importance to recognize the changes in any of the mentioned segments so therefore enabling timely intervention and in doing so helping the patient to achieve the regression of hyperthyroidism and thus ‘stabilization’ of heart failure.
Literature
- Narayana SK, Woods DR, Boos CJ. Management of amiodarone-related thyroid problems. Ther Adv Endocrinol Metab. 2011;2(3):115–26. https://doi.org/10.1177/2042018811398516
- Harjai KJ, Licata AA. Amiodarone-induced hyperthyroidism: a case series and brief review of literature. Pacing Clin Electrophysiol. 1996;19(11 Pt 1):1548–54. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-8159.1996.tb03179.x