Abstract

CAMPOS MIRANDA, Carla et al. Qualidade de vida em pacientes com insuficiência cardíaca: análise de três anos em um serviço especializado. Insuf. card. [online]. 2021, vol.16, n.1, pp.2-7. ISSN 1852-3862.

Background. Heart failure (HF) presents high morbidity and mortality, besides having great impact on quality of life (QoL). The Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire (MLHFQ) is a score that assesses the QoL of patients with this syndrome, in which the higher scores indicates lower QoL. Objective. To analyze the QoL of HF patients after three years of follow-up at the specialized outpatient service of a teaching hospital. Methods. Unicentric, descriptive, prospective study that voluntarily and confidentially applied MLHFQ in patients with HF with reduced ejection fraction followed at the HF clinic. The results of the patients MLHFQ compared at the time of inclusion in the study in 2014 and after the three-year follow-up in 2017/18 were analyzed. Results. Of 76 interviewed patients, 74 (97.4%) answered the questionnaire and were included in the study in 2014. After three years, 39.2% (29/74) answered the questionnaire again and in 59.8% (45/74) cannot apply MLHFQ a second time (deaths: 11; loss of follow-up at the service: 21; not found: 13). The mean score reached by the MLHFQ was 40.3 ± 21 points after inclusion and 31.6 ± 23 points after three years of follow-up at the service (p=0.001). Conclusion. We observed low QoL in the patients with HF included on this study, providing improvement of QoL after three years of follow-up at the specialized service. The HF clinics may significantly increase the QoL of HF patients, providing potential prognostic benefit.

Keywords : Heart failure; Quality of life; Multi-professional; Questionnaire; Insuficiencia cardíaca; Calidad de vida; Multidisciplinario; Cuestionario.