Background: Patients with heart failure rarely engage in adequate self-care. Greater emphasis on self-care discharge readiness is needed. Purpose: This study examined the effects of a predischarge educational program combined with 1 year of post discharge follow-up on self-care behaviors, readmission, sleep quality, and depression in patients with heart failure. Methods: A longitudinal, nonequivalent two-group pretest–posttest design was used. The intervention group received tailored education and follow-ups, whereas the control group received routine predischarge heart-failure education from direct care nurses only. Measurements included the self-care maintenance and self-care management subscales of the Self-Care of Heart Failure Index, Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index, Patient Health Questionnaire-9, and readmission rate. Data obtained at baseline and at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months post discharge were analyzed using linear mixed models with both intention-to treat and per-protocol approaches. The propensity score was used to adjust for the confounding effects of the New York Heart Association functional class and left ventricular ejection fraction. Results: Of the 62 patients with heart failure (28 in the intervention group and 34 in the control group) who were sampled at baseline, 47 (n = 25 vs. n = 22) provided data over the entire course of this 1-year study (76% retention rate). The per-protocol analysis did not find significant differences for any variables. However, the intention-to-treat analysis showed that the intervention group significantly improved in self-care maintenance at 6months and self-care management at 12 months after hospital discharge, with fewer, albeit not significantly fewer, first and subsequent hospital readmissions than the control group. Conclusions/Implications for Practice: The effect of this intervention was not found to be substantial, indicating a need to design more efficacious and powerful interventions. Hospitalized patients must receive patient education before discharge to foster their self-care knowledge and skills regarding self-care at home. Strategies are needed to help nurses provide patient education in a time-efficient manner.