Correlation of fatigue intensity with demographic and clinical characteristics of patients with congestive heart failure

Abstract

Background and aims: Fatigue is the most common side effects caused by congestive heart failure that can be as a complaint debilitating and often goes unnoticed by the health care team. The aim of this study was to determine the correlation of fatigue severity with demographic and clinical characteristics of patients with congestive heart failure. Methods: This correlational and cross-sectional study was performed on 93 patients with heart failure who were selected using simple sampling method in Shariati hospital and Isfahan cardiovascular research center during 9 months in 2015. Data collection tools were Demographic Questionaire and Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS). Data were analyzed using SPSS software, descriptive and analytical statistics such as mean, standard deviation, independent t-test, Spearman and one way ANOVA. Results: 64 (68.8%) patients were male and 29 patients (31.2%) were women. The mean age of patients was 61.26±7.39 years. The mean of fatigue score was 5.52±1.4. 82.8% of patients with congestive heart failure suffered from severe fatigue. There was a significant correlation between fatigue with different levels of education level and presence of other chronic diseases (P=0.032 and P=0.041). Conclusion: The findings suggest that the severity of fatigue among patients with chronic heart failure is high. So, perception and recognization of fatigue signs and symptoms and its effective factors for suitable administration of patients by health careers is in priority.

Keywords

• fatigue
• congestive heart failure
• demographic characteristics
• clinical characteristics.