Abstract
Objective
To determine factors that affect the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of congestive heart failure (CHF) patients with preserved and reduced ejection fraction.
Methods
A cross-sectional study design was used for this study. The stratified random sampling was applied for each subgroup. HRQOL was measured with the Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire. The data were analyzed using chi-square, Spearman’s correlation analysis, and independent t-test.
Results
A number of 67 respondents participated in the recent study. The total mean scores of HRQOL were significantly different (P = 0.001) between heart failure (HF) patients with reduced and preserved ejection fractions, 41.07 ± 7.54 and 54.97 ± 4.36, respectively. It related with the physical (mean ± standard deviation [SD] = 10.4 ± 2.14; t = −10.08, 95% CI = −12.46 to −8.34; P-value = 0.001) and psychological (mean ± SD = 3.5 ± 0.5; t = −6.68, 95% CI = −4.55 to −2.45; P-value = 0.001) domain. Strong correlation was found between age (r = −0.898, P < 0.05), NYHA functional classes (r = −0.858, P < 0.01), duration of HF (r = −0.807, P < 0.01), family support (r = 0.927, P < 0.01), and quality of life (QoL).
Conclusions
HRQOL in HF patients with reduced ejection fraction was higher than in those with preserved ejection fraction. Family support is a further determinant factor that has a positive correlation to the QoL.