RESUMO
Modern programs for the management of patients with chronic cardiac insufficiency (CCI) envisage systemic preventive measures aimed to extend their information support, stimulate compliance, optimize feedback, modify lifestyle, and facilitate social adaptation. Traditional health schools for CCI patients as a form of secondary prophylaxis helps to achieve the above goals even though efficiency of this work needs to be further improved. Results of regular medical examination of 417 patients with CCI (294 women and 123 men) visiting local outpatient facilities in 2008 were analysed. 207 of them attended health schools, where they were educated and treated with the use of innovative technologies. It was shown that frequency of hospitalization for decompensated CCI was not significantly different in these and control patients. However, the educated patients needed less emergency ambulance care, made fewer unplanned visits to their doctors, and had better results of clinical and functional studies. The efficiency of education was gender related. Men showed significantly lower frequency of hospitalization, improved health scores and results of 6-min walking test.