Fatigue and health-related quality of life in elderly patients with and without heart failure in primary healthcare

Patients with heart failure (HF) in primary healthcare are in many respects not comparable to those in specialized care and the knowledge about different patient groups with and without HF is limited.

To compare fatigue and health-related quality of life (Hr-QoL) when adjusting for age, gender and social provision in patients with confirmed HF (n=49) to a group of patients with symptoms indicating HF but without HF (NHF, n=59) and to an age-and sex-matched control-group (n=40).

A questionnaire including the Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory, the SF-36, and the Social Provisions Scale was used.

The average age in all groups was 78 years. Patients in the HF and NHF groups reported worse physical QoL and more general and physical fatigue than the control group. HF patients had worse general health than the NHF group.

Elderly patients in primary healthcare with confirmed heart failure and patients with symptoms similar to heart failure perceived they had a significantly worse physical QoL and more general and physical fatigue than an age- and sex-matched control group. The similarities between the patient groups indicate the importance of the symptom experience for Hr-QoL.