The value of COPE therapy in the perioperative care of heart failure patients receiving left ventricular assist device implantation.

Abstract

This pilot study implemented Creating Opportunities for Personal Empowerment (COPE), a cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) intervention, in the perioperative care of patients with advanced heart failure awaiting left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation. Using a quasi-experimental study design, the patients were screened for anxiety and depression using the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) screening tools. If patients scored 5 or greater on either tool, they received COPE. Patients were re-evaluated following intervention. Average scores for depression and anxiety symptoms pre-intervention were 10.6 and 10.2, respectively. Post intervention, scores decreased to an average of 5.4 and 3.2, respectively. Qualitative data suggests that they felt the intervention was helpful. Results show that it is possible to implement a multi-session CBT intervention in this population. The improvements in the severity of depression and anxiety symptoms in the five participants with LVAD is interesting and needs to be verified in a study with a larger sample size. The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12055-023-01493-9.