Baseline quality of life of caregivers of patients with heart failure prior to advanced therapies: Findings from the Sustaining Quality of Life of the Aged: Transplant or Mechanical Support (SUSTAIN-IT) study

Authors

• MG Petty, M Health Fairview, University of Minnesota Medical Center, Minneapolis, MN. Electronic address: petty001@umn.edu.
• T Wu, Department of Surgery, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL.
• AC Andrei, Division of Preventive Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL.Follow
• A Baldridge, Department of Surgery, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL.Follow
• A Warzecha, Department of Surgery, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL.
• A Kao, Heart Failure and Transplantation Cardiology, University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine, Kansas City, MO.
• J Spertus, Cardiovascular Division, University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine, Kansas City, MO.
• E Hsich, Cardiovascular Medicine, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, OH.
• MA Dew, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA.Follow
• D Pham, Department of Surgery, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL.
• C Yancy, Department of Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL.
• J Hartupee, Cardiovascular Division, department of Medicine, Washington University, St. Louis, MO.
• William Cotts, Advocate Aurora HealthFollow
• SV Pamboukian, Division of Cardiovascular Disease, Department of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL.
• F Pagani, Division of Cardiovascular Surgery, Frankel Cardiovascular Center, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI.
• B Lampert, Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH.
• M Johnson, Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI.
• M Murray, Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics, Madison, WI.
• K Tekeda, Department of Surgery, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY.
• M Yuzefpolskaya, Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY.
• S Silvestry, Thoracic Transplant Programs, Florida Hospital Transplant institute, Orlando, FL.
• JK Kirklin, Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL.
• KI Grady, Department of Surgery, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL.

Recommended Citation

Petty MG, Wu T, Andrei AC, et al. Baseline Quality-of-Life of Caregivers of Patients With Heart Failure Prior to Advanced Therapies: Findings From the Sustaining Quality of Life of the Aged: Transplant or Mechanical Support (SUSTAIN-IT) Study. J Card Fail. 2022;28(7):1137-1148. doi:10.1016/j.cardfail.2022.03.358

Affiliations

Advocate Heart and Vascular Institute, Advocate Christ Medical Center

Abstract

Background: We compared health-related quality of life (HRQOL), depressive symptoms, anxiety, and burden in caregivers of older patients with heart failure based on the intended therapy goal of the patient: awaiting heart transplantation (HT) with or without mechanical circulatory support (MCS) or prior to long-term MCS; and we identified factors associated with HRQOL.

Methods: Caregivers (n = 281) recruited from 13 HT and MCS programs in the United States completed measures of HRQOL (EQ-5D-3L), depressive symptoms (PHQ-8), anxiety (STAI-state), and burden (Oberst Caregiving Burden Scale). Analyses included ANOVA, Kruskal-Wallis tests, χ2 tests, and linear regression.

Results: The majority of caregivers were female, white spouses with ≤ 2 comorbidities, median [Q1,Q3] age = 62 [57.8, 67.0] years. Caregivers (HT with MCS = 87, HT without MCS = 98, long-term MCS = 96) reported similarly high baseline HRQOL (EQ-5D-3L visual analog scale median score = 90; P = 0.67 for all groups) and low levels of depressive symptoms. STAI-state median scores were higher in the long-term MCS group vs the HT groups with and without MCS, (38 vs 32 vs 31; P < 0.001), respectively. Burden (task: time spent/difficulty) differed significantly among groups. Caregiver factors (number of comorbidities, diabetes and higher anxiety levels) were significantly associated with worse caregiver HRQOL, R2 = 26%.

Conclusions: Recognizing caregiver-specific factors, including comorbidities and anxiety, associated with the HRQOL of caregivers of these older patients with advanced HF may guide support strategies.

Document Type

Article

PubMed ID

35470057