Abstract 13611: Quality of Life in Elderly Patients with Heart Failure and Preserved Ejection Fraction

Abstract

Background: Advanced age is a known independent predictor of mortality in patients with heart failure and preserved ejection fraction (HFPEF). But the impact of age on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in HFPEF patients is insufficiently studied. We aimed to investigate the impact of age on HRQoL in HFPEF patients.

Methods: We studied 495 consecutive HFPEF patients (EF≥50%) admitted to our hospital from 2006-2010 with heart failure symptoms. HRQoL assessment was performed at baseline, 3- and 12 months using Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire (MLHFQ) score. Changes in HRQoL were compared between two age groups (Group-1 with age<75 years; Group-2 with age ≥ 75 years).

Results: The overall response rate to MLHFQ was high (81%). During the follow-up period, 39 patients died at 3 months and 49 died at 12 months. The remaining 313 patients were divided into Group-1 (n=106, age=64.3±9.7 years) and Group-2 (n=207, age=81.9±4.8 years). There was no significant difference in the gender (49 men in Group-1 vs. 72 men in Group-2, p=0.06) and EF (62.8±8.2% in Group-1 vs. 63.6±8.5% in Group-2, p=0.44) at baseline. Baseline (28.7±14.9 vs. 32.6±14.2, p=0.11), 3-month (19.7±14.0 vs. 25±15.3, p=0.06) and 12-month (16.0±12.7 vs. 17.3±13.0, p=0.54) MLHFQ scores were similar between the 2 groups. HRQoL improvement was observed in the majority of patients in both groups (76.4% vs. 85.6%, p=0.16). In both groups, mean MLHFQ scores improved significantly from baseline to 3 months (p<0.01) and 12 months (p<0.001) as well as 3 months to 12 months (p<0.001). There was no correlation between age and change in HRQoL. (p= 0.68 in Pearson Correlation analysis). There were no significant differences in the prescription rates of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor or angiotensin II receptor blockers (58.5% vs. 55.7%, p=0.74) and beta-blockers (58.5% vs. 48.6%, p=0.17) during 12 months’ follow-up period between two groups.

Conclusions: Quality of life in HFPEF patients improved over time irrespective of age. Elderly HFPEF patients experienced similar improvements in quality of life compared to younger patients during follow-up after an index hospital admission.