Abstract
Background: For heart failure patients, alongside adhering to doctor's treatment, maintaining an appropriate diet plays a crucial role in treating and controlling the disease. A suitable diet contributes to reducing heart failure exacerbations and improving disease prognosis. Objective: To describe the current state of knowledge about diet among heart failure patients at the Vietnam National Heart Institute - Bach Mai Hospital in 2023. Method: A cross-sectional descriptive study on 80 chronic heart failure patients at the Vietnam National Heart Institute - Bach Mai Hospital. The study period was from August 2023 to September 2023. Using the Atlanta Heart Failure Knowledge Test (AHFKT – V2) questionnaire on heart failure knowledge. Results: The 80 patients participating in the study had an average age of 65.6 ± 12.9; with age groups >60, 41-60, ≤40 accounting for 73.8%, 20.0%, and 6.3% respectively. Males accounted for 71.3%. 5% of patients had good knowledge about low-salt diets, 51.2% achieved an average level, 36.3% had a fair level, and 7.5% had poor knowledge (p<0.05). Assessing understanding of weight monitoring: no patients achieved a good level of knowledge, 18.8% achieved a fair level; 53.8% an average level, and 27.5% a poor level (p<0.05). Patients' knowledge about fat selection was good in 3.8%; fair in 7.5%; average and poor levels had the highest proportions at 51.2% and 37.5% respectively (p<0.05). Conclusion: The knowledge about appropriate nutrition among heart failure patients is currently low.