scholarly journals Quality of life and disease experience in patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction in Spain: a mixed-methods study

BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. e053216
Author(s):  
Raül Rubio ◽  
Beatriz Palacios ◽  
Luis Varela ◽  
Raquel Fernández ◽  
Selene Camargo Correa ◽  
...  

ObjectivesTo gather insights on the disease experience of patients with heart failure (HF) with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF), and assess how patients’ experiences and narratives related to the disease complement data collected through standardised patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs). Also, to explore new ways of evaluating the burden experienced by patients and caregivers.DesignObservational, descriptive, multicentre, cross-sectional, mixed-methods study.SettingSecondary care, patient’s homes.ParticipantsTwenty patients with HFrEF (New York Heart Association (NYHA) classification I–III) aged 38–85 years.MeasuresPROMs EuroQoL 5D-5L (EQ-5D-5L) and Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire and patient interview and observation.ResultsA total of 20 patients with HFrEF participated in the study. The patients’ mean (SD) age was 72.5 (11.4) years, 65% were male and were classified inNYHA functional classes I (n=4), II (n=7) and III (n=9). The study showed a strong impact of HF in the patients’ quality of life (QoL) and disease experience, as revealed by the standardised PROMs (EQ-5D-5L global index=0.64 (0.36); Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire total symptom score=71.56 (20.55)) and the in-depth interviews. Patients and caregivers often disagreed describing and evaluating perceived QoL, as patients downplayed their limitations and caregivers overemphasised the poor QoL of the patients. Patients related current QoL to distant life experiences or to critical moments in their disease, such as hospitalisations. Anxiety over the disease progression is apparent in both patients and caregivers, suggesting that caregiver-specific tools should be developed.ConclusionsPROMs are an effective way of assessing symptoms over the most recent time period. However, especially in chronic diseases such as HFrEF, PROM scores could be complemented with additional tools to gain a better understanding of the patient’s status. New PROMs designed to evaluate and compare specific points in the life of the patient could be clinically more useful to assess changes in health status.

Author(s):  
Javed Butler ◽  
Gerasimos Filippatos ◽  
Tariq Jamal Siddiqi ◽  
Martina Brueckmann ◽  
Michael Böhm ◽  
...  

Background: Patients with heart failure and preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) have significant impairment in health-related quality of life (HRQoL). In EMPEROR-Preserved, we evaluated the efficacy of empagliflozin on HRQoL in patients with HFpEF and whether the clinical benefit observed with empagliflozin varies according to baseline health status. Methods: HRQoL was measured using the Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire (KCCQ) at baseline, 12, 32 and 52 weeks. Patients were divided by baseline KCCQ Clinical Summary Score (CSS) tertiles and the effect of empagliflozin on outcomes were examined. The effect of empagliflozin on KCCQ-CSS, Total Symptom Score (TSS) and Overall Summary Score (OSS) were evaluated. Responder analyses were performed to compare the odds of improvement and deterioration in KCCQ related to treatment with empagliflozin. Results: The effect of empagliflozin on reducing the risk of time to cardiovascular death or HF hospitalization was consistent across baseline KCCQ-CSS tertiles (HR 0.83 [0.69-1.00], HR 0.70 [0.55-0.88] and HR 0.82 [0.62-1.08] for scores <62.5, 62.5-83.3 and ≥83.3, respectively; P trend=0.77). Similar results were seen for total HF hospitalizations. Patients treated with empagliflozin had significant improvement in KCCQ-CSS versus placebo (+1.03, +1.24 and +1.50 at 12, 32 and 52 weeks, respectively P<0.01); similar results were seen for TSS and OSS. At 12 weeks, patients on empagliflozin had higher odds of improvement ≥5 points (OR 1.23; 95%CI 1.10, 1.37), ≥10 points (1.15; 95%CI 1.03, 1.27), and ≥15 points (1.13; 95%CI 1.02, 1.26) and lower odds of deterioration ≥5 points in KCCQ-CSS (0.85; 95%CI 0.75, 0.97). A similar pattern was seen at 32 and 52 weeks, and results were consistent for TSS and OSS. Conclusions: In patients with HFpEF, empagliflozin reduced the risk for major HF outcomes across the range of baseline KCCQ scores. Empagliflozin improved HRQoL, an effect that appeared early and was sustained for at least one year.


Circulation ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 141 (2) ◽  
pp. 90-99 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mikhail N. Kosiborod ◽  
Pardeep S. Jhund ◽  
Kieran F. Docherty ◽  
Mirta Diez ◽  
Mark C. Petrie ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
pp. 10-20
Author(s):  
Yasser Abdellatif ◽  
Abdelrahim Chahat ◽  
Khaled Said

Background: Heart failure (HF) is a growing chronic health condition affecting more than 20 million people worldwide. Symptoms of depression are a common co-morbidity affecting as many as 42% of patients with heart failure (HF) and are associated with a poor quality of life and adverse prognosis. Symptoms of depression have negative impacts not only on daily social and domestic activities, but also on hospitalization and mortality rates in HF patients. Cardiac rehabilitation has been shown to reduce the rate of mortality, improve functional capacity, and control reduced depressive symptoms and better clinical outcomes. Objective: to investigate the impact of a 12-week completed cardiac rehabilitation program on depressive symptoms in patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction. Patients and Methods: Sixty patients with stable heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) with mild, moderate and severe depressive symptoms were recruited between January 2018 to June 2019 at Ain Shams University hospitals and randomly assigned to whether or not receive a 12 weeks cardiac rehabilitation program. Cardiac rehabilitation program consisted of education, diet control, drug adherence, 12 weeks exercise sessions, behavioral and psychosocial management, and sexual activity education smoking cessation. All patients were personally interviewed for assessment of depression and quality of life before and after study period by Beck's depression inventory – II(BDI-II) and Minnesota living with heart failure questionnaire" (MLHFQ), respectively. Besides, all patients underwent echocardiographic assessment before and after study period. Result: A total of 60 patients in study group were enrolled, 26 (86.7%) males in both groups. There were 22 (73.3%) patients (13 with mild depressive symptoms, 5 with moderate and 4 with severe depressive symptoms) showed significant improvement in BDI-II score (P<0.001), whereas 8 (26.7%) patients only did not improve significantly after exercise period, no patients in the study group showed worsening of his depressive symptoms after completed cardiac rehabilitation program. BDI-II score has significant positive correlation with MLHFQ score (r=0.748, P<0.001). In contrast, only 4 (13.3%) patients (all of them were having mild depressive symptoms) of control group improved significantly regarding depressive symptoms (P<0.001), and the majority of participants 16 (53.3%) patients deteriorated regarding depressive symptoms, and the rest of group 10 (33.3%) patients didn’t show significant improvement of their depressive symptoms according to BDI-II score after the 3 month study period. There was a significant difference when compared BDI-II score at baseline with score after study period for the cardiac rehabilitation group. The BDI-II score difference after study period also was significant between two groups (P <0.001). Conclusion: The results of this study demonstrated that a complete and organized cardiac rehabilitation program improves depressive symptoms, quality of life as well as LVEF in patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction. Recommendation: Cardiac rehabilitation should be implemented in routine management of patients with heart failure to improve psychological and physical complication of HF. Keywords: Cardiac Rehabilitation; Depression; Heart Failure


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