Fatigue and its related factors in patients with chronic heart failure.
OBJECTIVE
To understand fatigue in chronic heart failure patients and its related factors.


BACKGROUND
Fatigue is a common symptom in patients with chronic heart failure, but little is known about this phenomenon.


METHODS
Correlational study.


METHODS
This correlational study sampled 107 chronic heart failure patients from a medical centre in northern Taiwan. Data were collected on objective outcomes (ejection fraction, EF; New York Heart Association classification, NYHA; beta-blocker use and haemoglobin, Hb) and subjective outcomes (depression and fatigue). Since the main outcome variable, fatigue, is multidimensional, it was measured by two scales: Lee's Fatigue Visual Analog Scale and a researcher-developed scale, the Tang Fatigue Rating Scale.


RESULTS
Subjects experienced a medium level of fatigue. Fatigue was significantly higher (p < 0.05) in females (226.6 SD 49.1) than males (203.0 SD 52.2) and in patients who took beta-blockers than those who did not (p < 0.01). Depression, EF and NYHA as a set explained 73% of the variance in subjects' fatigue. Subjects with greater depression, lower EF and worse NYHA experienced significantly higher fatigue (F = 76.50, p < 0.001).


CONCLUSIONS
Fatigue for this sample of chronic heart failure patients was significantly predicted by depression, EF and NYHA. Additional research is needed to explore patterns of fatigue and its related factors over time.


CONCLUSIONS
In nursing care, psychological factors are as important as physiological factors to patients' well-being. Health care providers should therefore pay more attention to the psychological status of patients with chronic heart failure, thus helping them control their fatigue and improve their well-being.
Tang
Woung-Ru
WR
Chang Gung University, Tao-Yuan, Taiwan. wtang@mail.cgu.edu.tw
Yu
Chiung-Yao
CY
Yeh
San-Jou
SJ
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003863:Depression; D005221:Fatigue / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008485:Medical Audit; D008875:Middle Aged; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013624:Taiwan