Symptom Distress Before and After Heart Transplantation - A Longitudinal 5-Year Follow-Up

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Transplantation Medicine
• Psychology

Background:

• Symptom distress is a significant challenge post-heart transplantation (HTx), affecting patient self-efficacy and psychological health.
• Limited research exists on self-reported symptoms and their long-term impact on heart transplant recipients (HTRs).

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore symptom distress from pre-heart transplantation to 5 years post-transplant.
• To investigate the association between symptom distress, psychological well-being, pain, and fatigue.
• To identify predictors of psychological and transplant-specific well-being in HTRs.

Main Methods:

• A multicenter, longitudinal cohort study involving 48 heart transplant recipients (HTRs).
• Data collected from pre-transplant up to 5 years post-transplant.
• Symptom distress assessed using validated instruments for psychological well-being, transplant-specific well-being, pain, and fatigue.

Main Results:

• Transplant-specific well-being generally improved over 5 years post-HTx.
• HTRs with poor psychological well-being experienced persistent symptom distress (fatigue, sleep issues) and no improvement in transplant-specific well-being.
• Pain prevalence ranged from 40-60% and significantly impacted transplant-specific well-being; overall symptom distress predicted psychological well-being.

Conclusions:

• Distressing symptoms are significant predictors of poor psychological well-being in HTRs, irrespective of chronic pain status.
• Interventions targeting symptom management may improve psychological outcomes for HTRs.