Assessing the quality of life and depression among patients with heart failure and heart attack

Abstract

BackgroundHealth-related quality and of life and depression are major issues among patients with heart diseases. The aim of the current study was to assess the levels of quality of life and depression among patients with heart failure and heart attack as well as the correlation between these domains and the differences in both categories.Participants and procedureIn this cross-sectional study the following tools were used: a) the Missoula-VITAS Quality of Life Index (MVQoLI-15), which examines 5 domains of quality of life, and b) the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D), which measures depression among patients. Finally, a questionnaire about sociodemographic elements was completed by the patients. Data were analyzed through IBM Statistics SPSS 20.0. The statistical level was set at 0.05%.ResultsThe mean value of CES-D Total and MVQoLI-15 were higher for the patients suffering from heart failure than those suffering from a heart attack. However, the dimensions of MVQoLI-15 Interpersonal Relationships, Well-Being and Transcendence were lower for heart failure patients compared to the levels of the patients suffering from a heart attack. According to the Pearson r test, there was a statistically significant negative correlation be-tween the quality of life and depression (p = .001) in the overall sample.ConclusionsPatients with heart failure experience more depression and lower quality of life than heart attack patients.