Fatigue, shortness of breath and well-being in patients with heart failure: A daily trend analysis over 12 weeks

Abstract

Abstract Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: Public grant(s) – National budget only. Main funding source(s): This work is supported by the Swedish National Science Council (2020-01109); The Swedish Heart and Lung Foundation (20200190); the Kamprad Foundation (20210074) and the Research Council in South East Sweden (FORSS-940933) Introduction Patients with heart failure (HF) experience symptoms of fatigue and shortness of breath (SoB) that may worsen over time and negatively impacts their well-being. Repeated admissions are partly related to delays in responding to HF symptoms. Purpose This study aimed to investigate the trend of fatigue, SoB and well-being over 12 weeks in patients with HF. Methods Diary data were collected as part of the HF-Wii study. From the 605 patients included in this study, 234 patients completed a 12-week diary. Patients rated their fatigue and SoB daily on a Likert scale (0 = no symptom, 10 = worst possible symptom). Patients also rated their daily well-being with the Cartrils Ladder of Life with 0 representing the worst possible life and 10 for the best possible life. The weekly differences in symptoms and well-being were assessed over 12 weeks. Also, the overall correlation over 12 weeks between symptoms and well-being was calculated. Results In total, 234 patients with HF were included in this analysis, mean age: 68±11 years, 31% female, 11% NYHA-class I, 65% NYHA-class II and 24% NYHA-class III. Over 12 weeks, patients had mild symptom experience. The minimum and maximum mean SoB score was 3.3(±2.1) and 3.8 (±2.5). The minimum mean fatigue score was 3.4 (±2.1) and the maximum was 3.9 (±2.4). The mean well-being minimum score was 5.8(±.9) and the maximum was 6.8 (±1.8). The trend analysis showed that when patients experience more symptom burden over time, this negatively impacted their well-being (Figure 1). A significant negative overall correlation between fatigue and well-being (r = -0.43) and between shortness of breath and well-being (r = -0.42) was noted. Conclusions Symptom experience has a significant influence on patient-reported daily well-being in patients with HF. Close monitoring of symptoms to improve well-being in this population is essential.