Nursing Approach to the Patient with Left Ventricular Assist Device According to the Health Promotion Model: Case Report

After left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) are implanted, significant changes occur in patients’ lifestyles. It was planned to use Pender’s Health Promotion Model (HPM) to evaluate these patients and improve their health behaviors. In this direction, it was aimed to evaluate the individual and to create healthy lifestyle and behavior change. A 49-year-old male patient with a diagnosis of heart failure was implanted with an LVAD when medical treatments did not yield results and a suitable heart for heart transplantation could not be found. With the aim of improving the patient’s health, current and risk group nursing diagnoses were determined in the subjects of healthy lifestyle behaviors, health responsibility, spiritual development, interpersonal relationships, stress management, exercise, and nutrition in line with SGM. The model guided the individual who is responsible for controlling his/her health on how to gain health-promoting behaviors. With Pender’s SGM, it was seen how the patient with LVAD could manage his life with the device by developing healthy lifestyle behavior change. It is thought to contribute to the improvement of the patient’s quality of life after discharge.