CUIDADORES FAMILIARES DE PERSONAS CON ENFERMEDAD CARDIOVASCULAR EN EL CONTINENTE AMERICANO: UNA REVISIÓN RÁPIDA

INTRODUCTION.The increase in morbidity due to cardiovascular disease has implied that the care of the population that suffers from it is carried out by family caregivers; this consequently generates an impact on the social, psychological,and physical dimensions of these.OBJECTIVE.To synthesize the current state of the available evidence on family caregivers of people living with cardiovasculardisease.MATERIALS AND METHODS.Arapid review was carried out in high-impact journals according to the Scimago Journal Rank classification. Primary studies were included. The information was extracted according to parameters such as country, population, type of study, objective, results,and implications for the family caregiver. An assessment of the quality of the included studies was made.RESULTS.A total of 23 articles were included in this review, primarily conducted in the United States and Brazil. The findings were organized into four main themes: (1) the patient-caregiver dyad relationship and health outcomes, (2) caregivers experiences and emotions, (3) the impact of caregiving for a person with cardiovascular disease, and (4) validation of assessment tools, including the Caregiver Contribution to Self-Care of Heart Failure (CACHS) Scale, the Self-Care of Heart Failure Index (CC-SCHFI), and the Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI).CONCLUSIONS.Caring for a person with cardiovascular disease involves a complex dynamic that includes the experience of overload, feelings such as fatigue, fear,and uncertainty, and various needs derived from caring for the person and accompanying them over time. In this dynamic, the caregiver must make changes in her roles and transformations in her own life to provide care.