Heart failure symptom relationships: a systematic review

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Psychology
• Nursing

Background:

• Heart failure (HF) is a common chronic condition in the US.
• HF patients experience 2-9 symptoms, impacting quality of life.
• Understanding symptom relationships in HF is crucial for effective patient management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review existing literature on heart failure symptom relationships.
• To identify and examine studies on heart failure symptom clusters.
• To inform clinical practice and future research in HF symptom management.

Main Methods:

• Systematic review adhering to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines.
• Searched major databases: PubMed, PsychINFO, CINAHL, and Cochrane.
• Included studies examining pairs of heart failure symptoms.

Main Results:

• 34 studies were included from 1316 identified.
• Moderate correlations found between depression and fatigue, anxiety, sleep, and pain.
• Anxiety and fatigue, and dyspnea and fatigue also showed moderate correlations.

Conclusions:

• Findings support the existence of heart failure symptom clusters.
• Depression is a key symptom linked to others, indicating potential co-occurring symptoms in HF patients.
• Further research into HF symptom phenotypes is recommended to refine understanding of symptom clusters.