Publications

This research aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the current literature on heart failure management in Lebanon and identify the implications for policy, practice, education and research. The design of this research is a systematic review following PRISMA guidelines. The databases were searched using the search terms “heart failure” AND “Lebanon” and associate MeSH terms. The abstracts of the selected articles were examined independently by two researchers; the sample characteristics, HF indices, and results of the included studies were extracted. Key findings and trends were synthesized. Eleven papers were reviewed with 2774 participants’ mean age 57.98 SD 13.09 years and the majority n=1494 (53.85%) were male. Over one third reported having coronary artery disease and half had hypertension. The mean ejection fraction was 47.28% SD 10.44 and the mean length of hospital stay was 10.28 SD 7.97 days. Self-care was a common theme showing varying but low scores especially in the self-management subscale. The findings of this study outline the unique characteristics of the heart failure population in a Middle Eastern country. These characteristics should be considered when planning interventions in countries facing geopolitical instability in the context of population aging and the rise of non-communicable diseases.