Self-care for the prevention and management of cardiovascular disease and stroke: A scientific statement for healthcare professionals from the American heart association

Self-care is defined as a naturalistic decision-making process addressing both the prevention and management of chronic illness,with core elements of self-care maintenance,self-care monitoring,and self-care management. in this scientific statement,we describe the importance of self-care in the american heart association mission and vision of building healthier lives,free of cardiovascular diseases and stroke. the evidence supporting specific self-care behaviors such as diet and exercise,barriers to self-care,and the effectiveness of self-care in improving outcomes is reviewed,as is the evidence supporting various individual,family-based,and community-based approaches to improving self-care. although there are many nuances to the relationships between self-care and outcomes,there is strong evidence that self-care is effective in achieving the goals of the treatment plan and cannot be ignored. as such,greater emphasis should be placed on self-care in evidence-based guidelines. © 2017 the authors.