Health-related quality of life of patients with severe heart failure. A cross-sectional multicentre study

Background: Heart failure is a serious chronic syndrome that is accompanied by significant physical and psychological burdens, resulting in poor quality of life. Aim: To assess the quality of life of patients with severe heart failure and its correlation with patient demographic, socio-economic and clinical characteristics. Method: We studied 199 patients with heart failure who were hospitalized in the Cardiology Department of three general hospitals of Greece during a 1-year period. Demographic and socio-economic data were obtained using a short questionnaire, while clinical data were obtained from medical record review. The assessment of the patients' quality of life was performed using Minnesota Life with Heart Failure Questionnaire (MLWHFQ). Findings: The mean MLWHFQ score was 62.7 (+/- 20.3). Significantly lower quality of life was found in patients with diabetes mellitus (Coefficient beta (beta) = 11.4; 95% Confidence Interval (CI), 5.2-17.5), hypertension (beta = 10.3; CI, 1.4-19.1), chronic renal failure (beta = 13.9; CI, 5.9-21.9), chronic respiratory failure (beta = 11.2; CI, 4.7-17.7), cancer (beta = 12.3; CI, 2.3-22.4), psychiatric disease (beta = 10.5; CI, 0.6-20.4) and those patients who were classified in New York Heart Association class IV (beta = 10.6, CI = 4.1-17.0). Conclusions: The average score of the MLWHFQ was high, and this reflects the poor quality of life of patients. Higher scores in specific patient groups show the negative influence of these factors in quality of life. The holistic care of patients with heart failure by a multidisciplinary team of healthcare professionals could improve their quality of life.