Symptom distress in cardiac transplant candidates.
OBJECTIVE
To examine symptom frequency and distress in heart transplant candidates.


METHODS
Prospective, two-site study with a correlational design.


METHODS
Large Midwestern and large Southern medical center.


METHODS
Convenience sample of 175 adult patients (mean age 52 years, 85% men) awaiting heart transplantation. Fifty percent of the patients had ischemic cardiomyopathy and 47% had dilated cardiomyopathy.


METHODS
The Heart Transplant Symptom Checklist (Grady, Jalowiec, & Grusk, 1988), a 92-item self-administered instrument that measures how much patients are bothered by symptoms on a four-point rating scale, was developed by the research team for the study. Cronbach alpha reliability for the total scale was 0.95.


RESULTS
The most frequent and distressing symptoms for patients awaiting heart transplantation were tiredness, difficulty breathing when walking or doing something, difficulty sleeping, and weakness in the whole body. Patients who had more symptom distress were unable to work. Higher symptom distress correlated significantly with higher stress, less life satisfaction, lower quality of life, and more functional disability.


CONCLUSIONS
Heart transplant candidates experience symptoms that may affect their ability to work and are associated with more functional disability and lower quality of life.


CONCLUSIONS
Identification of the most frequent and distressing symptoms helps nurses and other health care providers to better assess and intervene with patients who are heart transplant candidates.
Grady
K L
KL
Loyola University of Chicago Medical Center, IL.
Jalowiec
A
A
Grusk
B B
BB
White-Williams
C
C
Robinson
J A
JA
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000407:Alabama / Q000453:epidemiology; D004417:Dyspnea / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology; D005221:Fatigue / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006331:Heart Diseases / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery; D016027:Heart Transplantation; D006801:Humans; D007087:Illinois / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011594:Psychometrics; D011788:Quality of Life; D012893:Sleep Wake Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology* / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards; D014850:Waiting Lists; D014937:Work