Ethical issues on caring for end-stage heart failure patients

Abstract

Medicine practice has always brought up ethical problems and demanded a high moral quality from the doctor. One of the most important ethical dilemmas to consider in Cardiology is assisting advanced or end-stage heart failure patients. In order to analyze these aspects, a bibliographic review and a strict analysis of the subject were carried out, upheld by our findings in related literature. There are different ethical conflicts concerning this type of patient’s care: poor health team clarity to identify when being before an end-stage state, little palliative care implementation, medicalization of death, therapeutic cruelty and solutions, and problems generated by implanted devices in such end-stage patients. An adequate doctor-patient-family relationship, a correct health personnel ethical training, as well as continuous thorough investigation, are the strategies to solve ethical dilemmas coming up when caring for these patients.