Copyright © 2015 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved. C URRENT O PINION Palliative and supportive care needs of heart failure patients in Africa: a review of recent developments Lucy Selman, Lisa Brighton, and Richard Harding Purpose of review Despite the rising prevalence of heart failure in Africa, it remains unclear what supportive and palliative care services are required to meet patient needs. This review highlights recent contributions to knowledge of the supportive and palliative care needs of heart failure patients in Africa. Recent findings Multiple epidemiological studies demonstrate the population-level burden of heart failure in Africa, characterized by low levels of ischaemic heart disease and a young mean patient age. However, few studies have addressed patients’ specific palliative and supportive care needs. Only one recent published study investigated the quality of life of heart failure patients in Africa, and although conference abstracts suggest more research is forthcoming, these remain scarce. For service implementation, research is again sparse, but promising recent developments, including a hospital-based palliative care service for organ failure patients and a community-based programme to diagnose and manage heart failure, present future research avenues. Summary Despite advances in epidemiological knowledge, very little research has investigated the illness experience and multidimensional needs of individuals. Obtaining this evidence through culturally sensitive research is essential to future development and testing of new and existing palliative care services for heart failure patients in Africa. Video abstract http://links.lww.com/COSPC/A9 Keywords Africa, heart failure, palliative INTRODUCTION Globally, noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) account for two in three deaths each year, killing more than 36 million people annually [1]. Nearly 80% of NCD deaths occur in low-income and middle-income countries [2]. Cardiovascular dis- eases account for one in three deaths worldwide, with 80% of deaths occurring in the developing world [3]. Unlike most cardiovascular diseases, the incidence of heart failure is rising [4–7], and it is now a dominant form of cardiovascular disease in Africa [3] and a leading cause of death in South Africa [8]. Increasingly, the burden of heart failure in Africa is recognized as an urgent public health concern [9 & –11 & ] with major economic con- sequences [12 & ,13]. This review will highlight recent contributions to research regarding heart failure in Africa, demonstrating that despite significant improvements in our understanding of the burden of heart failure at a population level, little is known about the supportive and palliative care needs of heart failure patients at an individual level and the ability of palliative care services to meet these needs. Department of Palliative Care, Policy and Rehabilitation, Cicely Saunders Institute, King’s College London, London, UK Correspondence to Lucy Selman, BA, MPhil, PG Cert Pall Care, PhD, Department of Palliative Care, Policy and Rehabilitation, Cicely Saunders Institute, King’s College London, Bessemer Road, London SE5 9PJ, UK. Tel: +44 207 848 5566; e-mail: lucy.selman@kcl.ac.uk Curr Opin Support Palliat Care 2015, 9:20–25 DOI:10.1097/SPC.0000000000000107 www.supportiveandpalliativecare.com Volume 9  Number 1  March 2015 REVIEW