Measuring quality of life in patients with heart failure

Abstract

INTRODUCTION The quality of life in patients with heart failure is diminished by symptoms of disease, affected social connections, frequent hospitalizations, side effects caused by medication, and costs of treatment borne by the patient himself. OBJECTIVE The objective of this research was to measure the quality of life of patients with heart failure and assess any potential changes during a six-month period. METHOD This research is a follow-up study, and comprised 56 patients who were treated from September 1998 to August 1999 at the Institute for Cardiovascular Diseases of The Clinical Center of Serbia. During the first hospitalization, an initial baseline measurement of quality of life was conducted. The measurement was then repeated after three and six months, during check-ups. The measurement was conducted by using a special questionnaire for patients suffering from heart disorders, the "Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire." RESULTS The results showed a considerable improvement in the overall quality of life between the baseline and seeable improvement in the physical dimension of quality of life between the baseline and first measurements (F=6.797; p=0.016) and between the baseline and second measurements (F=5.351;p=0.030). CONCLUSION Thanks to the application of the special Minnesota questionnaire, it was possible to measure small but considerable changes in the patients’ quality of life.

Keywords

• quality of life
• quality of life measurement
• heart failure
• Minnesota questionnaire