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