title: [Study of quality of life of patients with heart failure in an Internal Medicine Department].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Quality of life (QL) is an important objective in the treatment of patients with heart failure (HF). We have measured QL and different factors that can affect it in a group of patients hospitalized with HF.
  
  
  METHODS
  34 patients with HF were cross-examined by means of a specific questionnaire: The "Minnesota Living With Heart Failure Questionnaire" (MLWHFQ). Blood analyses, ecocardiographic measurements and specific questionnaires, were also carried out in order to evaluate other parameters which could affect QL: Age, sex, comorbidity, number of drugs taken, left ventricular ejection fraction, nutritional status, cognitive function, depression and functional capacity in daily life.
  
  
  RESULTS
  QL measured by means of the MLWHFQ was quite high (mean: 34.3). The other tests yielded values within normality or next to normality. Depression was the factor more clearly associated with patients quality of life (p = 0.0001). We also found a statistically significant association with left ventricular ejection fraction (p = 0.03), age (p = 0.008) and albuminemia (p = 0.01).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In our group of patients, QL was conditioned by depression, left ventricular ejection fraction, age and albuminemia.
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Medicina Interna, Hospital Virgen del Camino, Pamplona. danieletxeberria@yahoo.es
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Etxeberría-Lekuona
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sánchez-Alvarez
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Alonso Gutiérrez
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Acha Arrieta
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Campos Rivas
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Jarne Betrán
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000150:complications; D006748:Hospital Departments; D006801:Humans; D007388:Internal Medicine; D008297:Male; D011788:Quality of Life; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires