student name: Sajjad rafiee
Supervisor:Mr Rezaei
Advisors: Mr Abedi
Dr Farahani
Defense date:2025/9/15

Title:
The effect of Hand-held fan on dyspnea in Decompensated heart failure patients
Abstract
Background:
Dyspnea is one of the hallmark symptoms of heart failure and can significantly worsen the patient’s condition. Despite advancements in pharmacological treatments over recent decades, more than half of heart failure patients continue to report fatigue and shortness of breath as persistent symptoms, indicating that medication alone may not be sufficient in managing dyspnea. Numerous studies have confirmed the effectiveness of non-pharmacological interventions, one of which is the use of handheld fans. However, despite extensive research on the impact of fan use on dyspnea, no study has specifically focused on patients with heart failure. Therefore, the present study was conducted to evaluate the effect of handheld fan use on dyspnea in patients with heart failure.
Methods:
This two-group clinical trial was conducted on 58 patients with decompensated heart failure admitted to Amir Al-Momenin Hospital in Arak, affiliated with Arak University of Medical Sciences. Patients were randomly assigned to intervention and control groups. All patients received routine heart failure care, while those in the intervention group additionally used a handheld fan for five minutes. The severity of dyspnea was assessed using the Modified Borg Dyspnea Scale before and after the intervention. Vital signs were also monitored before, during, and after the intervention. Data were analyzed using SPSS version23.
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Results:
The findings indicated that the use of a handheld fan significantly reduced the severity of dyspnea in the intervention group compared to the control group (p =0.004). Moreover, arterial oxygen saturation levels significantly increased in the intervention group compared to the control group (p = 0.032). However, there were no significant changes in respiratory rate or heart rate between the two groups (p > 0.05).
Conclusion:
According to the results of this study, the use of a handheld fan had a beneficial effect on dyspnea in patients with decompensated heart failure.
Keywords: Heart Failure, Decompensated Heart Failure, Dyspnea, Breathlessness, Handheld fan