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Emotional functioning drives quality of life in men with heart failure

Teresita Corvera-Tindel1, Lynn V Doering, Janice Roper

  • 1VA Nursing Research Department, VA Greater Los Angeles Health Care System, School of Nursing, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90073, USA. teresita.corvera@med.va.gov

Progress in Cardiovascular Nursing
|March 6, 2009
PubMed

Insights

Emotional functioning and younger age significantly impact quality of life (QOL) in men with heart failure (HF). Physical functioning also plays a role, but emotional health is a stronger predictor of QOL for these patients.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiology
  • Psychology
  • Quality of Life Research

Background:

  • Heart failure (HF) significantly impacts patients' quality of life (QOL).
  • Understanding factors influencing QOL is crucial for effective patient management.
  • Both physical and emotional well-being are recognized as important determinants of QOL.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the relative importance of physical and emotional functioning on QOL in men with HF.
  • To identify key predictors of lower QOL in this patient population.

Main Methods:

  • Cross-sectional study involving 76 men diagnosed with heart failure.
  • Utilized the Cardiac-Quality of Life Index (C-QLI) to assess QOL.
  • Employed multivariate stepwise regression analysis, controlling for sociodemographic and clinical variables, to examine physical functioning (6-minute walk test, HF Functional Status Inventory) and emotional functioning (depression, anxiety, hostility via Multiple Affect Adjective Checklist).

Main Results:

  • Younger age (9% variance, P=.008), higher depressive symptoms (16% variance, P≤.001), and lower self-reported physical functioning (4% variance, P=.03) were significant predictors of lower QOL (R²=0.33, P=.03).
  • Emotional functioning demonstrated a stronger association with QOL compared to physical functioning.
  • Younger age was also a significant factor linked to reduced QOL.

Conclusions:

  • Emotional functioning, particularly depressive symptoms, is a more critical determinant of QOL than physical functioning in men with heart failure.
  • Age also plays a significant role in the QOL of men with HF.
  • These findings highlight the importance of addressing emotional well-being in the comprehensive care of heart failure patients to improve their overall quality of life.

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