• Deborah Dillon McDonald, Christina Soutar, Maria Agudelo Chan, and Angela Afriyie.
• University of Connecticut School of Nursing, 231 Glenbrook Road, Storrs, CT 06269-2026, USA. Electronic address: Deborah.mcdonald@uconn.edu.
• Heart Lung. 2015 Sep 1; 44 (5): 395-9.

ObjectiveTo describe alternative non-pharmaceutical non-nutraceutical pain self-management strategies used by people with heart failure (HF) in order to reduce chronic non-cardiac pain.BackgroundLittle is known about alternative pain self-treatments used by HF patients with chronic pain.MethodsA cross-sectional descriptive design was used with 25 hospitalized HF patients who had chronic pain and used at least one alternative pain treatment. Pain intensity, pain interference with function, and current pain treatments were measured with the Brief Pain Inventory.ResultsAlternative treatments included walking, stretching, use of heat and cold. Five patients used evidence-based pain treatments for their chronic pain conditions. Patients reported moderate pain intensity and pain interference with activity.ConclusionsPatients with HF and chronic pain use few alternative pain treatments. Screening for chronic pain and referral to Integrative Medicine and/or Palliative care for a pain management consult might reduce the added burden of pain in people with HF.Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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