Abstract 11675: Heart Failure Patients Express Preferences Toward Benefits of Feeling Well and Living Longer With Added Therapy

Abstract

Introduction: Therapies for heart failure (HF) in the United States have been approved to decrease hospitalizations and mortality rather than to make patients feel better. Patients considering possible benefits of a new therapy may express different preferences for feeling well versus living longer. Methods: During collection of patient-reported outcomes at HF clinic visits, patients described along a five-point scale the benefits they would want from an additional HF therapy in relation to feeling well or living longer. They were also asked if their quality of life (QOL) was limited mostly by HF, equally by HF and other medical problems, or mostly by other medical or non-medical problems. Pairwise comparisons were made between patients in 3 groups defined by those who valued living longer in preference to feeling well, those who regarded those benefits equally, and those who valued feeling well over living longer. Results: Between 7/2019-3/2021, responses during HF clinic visit at an academic center were provided by 1,876 patients. When asked what benefit they would want from a new treatment, 12% valued longevity over feeling well, 69% equally valued feeling well and living long, and 19% valued feeling well over living longer (Figure). Patients placing higher value on living longer were more likely to be younger and more likely to be African-American (both p< 0.001). A majority of patients perceived that their QOL was limited as much or more by other medical or non-medical factors as by their HF. Conclusions: For an additional therapy, contemporary outpatients with HF express preference at least as often for benefit to feel well as to live longer, with the majority of patients ranking them as equal. As new treatments for HF are developed and approved, increasing emphasis is warranted on investigating their impacts on how patients feel.