Health related quality of life in patients with congestive heart failure: comparison with other chronic diseases and relation to functional variables

Abstract

Objective: To assess health related quality of life of patients with congestive heart failure; to compare their quality of life with the previously characterised general population and in those with other chronic diseases; and to correlate the different aspects of quality of life with relevant somatic variables. Setting: University hospital. Patients and design: A German version of the generic quality of life measure (SF-36) containing eight dimensions was administered to 205 patients with congestive heart failure and systolic dysfunction. Cardiopulmonary evaluation included assessment of New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class, left ventricular ejection fraction, peak oxygen uptake, and the distance covered during a standardised six minute walk test. Results: Quality of life significantly decreased with NYHA functional class (linear trend: p < 0.0001). In NYHA class III, the scores of five of the eight quality of life domains were reduced to around one third of those in the general population. The pattern of reduction was different in patients with chronic hepatitis C and major depression, and similar in patients on chronic haemodialysis. Multiple regression analysis showed that only the NYHA functional class was consistently and closely associated with all quality of life scales. The six minute walk test and peak oxygen uptake added to the explanation of the variance in only one of the eight quality of life domains (physical functioning). Left ventricular ejection fraction, duration of disease, and age showed no clear association with quality of life. Conclusions: In congestive heart failure, quality of life decreases as NYHA functional class worsens. Though NYHA functional class was the most dominant predictor among the somatic variables studied, the major determinants of reduced quality of life remain unknown.

Life's Simple 7 and Incident Heart Failure: The Multi‐Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis

“…People with HF often experience a reduction in quality of life, higher mortality rates, and increased risk for other CVD events 31, 32, 33, 34. More than half of the people diagnosed with HF will die within 5 years 32, 33.…”

Quality of life and symptoms of depression in advanced heart failure patients and their partners

“…Compared to the last decades, patients live longer with heart failure (HF), however their daily life is often marked by significant symptoms and side-effects of the treatment affecting not only the physical dimensions of life, but also social and psychological dimensions during the disease trajectory (1)(2)(3). A poor quality of life and depressive symptoms have been described to lead to an increased risk of hospital admissions and death (4,5).…”

A comparative correlational study of coping strategies and quality of life in patients with chronic heart failure and the general Swedish population

“…These findings are consistent with previous investigations (Heo et al., 2007; Juenger et al., 2002; Lesman‐Leegte et al., 2009) indicating that, as a chronic illness, CHF has an impact on QoL. The person must cope with the consequences of the illness and its associated symptoms, treatments and lifestyle changes.…”

“…In line with our findings, Juenger et al. 's (2002) study of older persons with CHF showed that women rated lower mental health than men did. For both women and men with CHF, QoL was also reduced compared with a gender‐matched group (Juenger et al., 2002), just as in the present study.…”

“…We have not found any previous study comparing patients with CHF and a general population with regard to coping. Concerning QoL, two studies (Juenger et al., 2002; Lesman‐Leegte et al., 2009) have compared patients with CHF with gender‐matched community controls.…”