SPC365

Impact of Heart Failure on Patient and Caregiver Well-being and Quality of Life: Evidence from a reported outcomes study in Portugal

Session: Sessão de Posters 10 - Cuidados modernos na insuficiência cardíaca: congestão, metabolismo e resultados
Speaker: José Silva Cardoso

Congress: CPC 2026
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Session Type: Posters Eletrónicos
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Authors: José Silva Cardoso; Emília Moreira; em Nome do Grupo de Estudo Vital
<p style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Aptos,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,sans-serif">Introduction:</span></span></span></span></p>

<p style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Aptos,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,sans-serif">Heart failure (HF) is a global public health problem with high impact on both patients and their caregivers. This study aimed to </span></span><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,sans-serif">characterize</span></span><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,sans-serif"> the well-being and quality of life (QoL) of HF patients and their caregivers.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Aptos,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,sans-serif">Methods:</span></span></span></span></p>

<p style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Aptos,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,sans-serif">This cross-sectional study included adult patients with HF (regardless of HF characteristics) and caregivers of HF patients between September 2023 and September 2024. Sociodemographic and clinical data were collected. Patients&rsquo; self-care was assessed using the Portuguese version of the European Heart Failure Self-care Behavio</span></span>r<span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,sans-serif"> Scale, and the </span></span><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,sans-serif">Caregivers&rsquo; Burden with the Heart Failure Caregiver Questionnaire. QoL was evaluated using the Portuguese version of EQ-5D-3L questionnaire.</span></span></span></span></p>

<p style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Aptos,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,sans-serif">Results:</span></span></span></span></p>

<p style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Aptos,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,sans-serif">The study included 120 patients and 32 caregivers. Patients had a median [P25;P75] age of 58 [5</span></span><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,sans-serif">1</span></span><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,sans-serif">;68] years and 5</span></span><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,sans-serif">9</span></span><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,sans-serif">% were male. Caregivers had a median age of 55 [41;64] years and 71% were female</span></span><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,sans-serif">; </span></span>n<span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,sans-serif">early half (45%) were spouses. The majority of patients (95%) took their medi</span></span><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,sans-serif">cation</span></span><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,sans-serif"> as prescribed and were on a low</span></span><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,sans-serif">-</span></span><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,sans-serif">salt diet (64%), but only 42% exercised regularly and 2</span></span><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,sans-serif">6</span></span><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,sans-serif">% weighed themselves </span></span><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,sans-serif">daily</span></span><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,sans-serif">. The self-care median reverse score for patients was 67 [53;78] out of 100. Caregivers spent a median </span></span><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,sans-serif">of </span></span><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,sans-serif">2</span></span><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,sans-serif">1</span></span><strong> </strong><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,sans-serif">[7;3</span></span><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,sans-serif">9</span></span><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,sans-serif">] hours/week over a median 5 [3;16] years taking care of the patient. Regarding caregiver burden, physical well-being, emotional well-being and lifestyle total scores were </span></span><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,sans-serif">30 [15;55], 41 [29;52] and 38 [19;67] out of 100, respectively. Working caregivers reported a median 29% [0%;75%] work impairment due to HF. The most frequently reported QoL issue in both groups was experiencing some or severe anxiety and depression, reported by 44% of patients and 48% of caregivers. </span></span><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,sans-serif">The </span></span><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,sans-serif">o</span></span><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,sans-serif">verall median health state score was 65 [50;80] and 76 [52;81] out of 100, for patients and caregivers, respectively. Most patients with caregivers (n=11) reported some or </span></span><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,sans-serif">significant </span></span><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,sans-serif">problems with anxiety and depression (6</span></span><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,sans-serif">7</span></span><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,sans-serif">%) and pain or discomfort (6</span></span><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,sans-serif">7</span></span><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,sans-serif">%), and their median health state score was 50 [43;80].</span></span></span></span></p>

<p style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Aptos,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,sans-serif">Conclusion:</span></span></span></span></p>

<p style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Aptos,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,sans-serif">Patients show acceptable self-care, </span></span><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,sans-serif">al</span></span><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,sans-serif">though targeted interventions are still needed. Caregiving imposes a physical and emotional burden that requires structured support, and its presence is associated with worse QoL. Overall, HF substantially affects the well-being and QoL of both patients and caregivers.</span></span></span></span></p>