title: A comparison of the health status and psychological distress of partners of patients with a left ventricular assist device versus an implantable cardioverter defibrillator: a preliminary study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine if the caregiving for patients with a left ventricular assist device (LVAD) is related to a poorer health status and more distress compared to patients with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD).
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Partners distress may influence patient outcomes and is therefore an important aspect in the care of LVAD and ICD patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  Multi-center prospective observational study with 6 months follow-up of 33 LVAD partners (27% men; mean age = 54 ± 10 years) and 414 ICD partners (22% men; mean age = 60 ± 12 years).
  
  
  RESULTS
  LVAD partners reported better physical (F = 10.71, p = .001) but poorer mental health status (F = 14.82, p < .001) and higher depression scores compared to ICD partners (F = 3.68, p = .05) at 6 months follow-up, also in adjusted analyses. There was no significant difference between groups on anxiety.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Caregivers of LVAD patients show higher distress levels compared to caregivers of ICD patients. LVAD partners may have a need for support beyond what is offered currently in clinical practice.
authors.affiliation: CoRPS - Center of Research on Psychology in Somatic Diseases, Department of Medical and Clinical Psychology, Tilburg University, Tilburg, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Corline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Brouwers
authors.affiliation: Erasmus Medical Center, Thoraxcenter, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Kadir
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Caliskan
authors.affiliation: University Medical Center Utrecht, Division Heart and Lung, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Nicolaas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: de Jonge
authors.affiliation: Erasmus Medical Center, Thoraxcenter, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Dominic A J M
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Theuns
authors.affiliation: Erasmus Medical Center, Thoraxcenter, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Constantinescu
authors.affiliation: St. Paul's Hospital, Heart Center, Vancouver, Canada.
authors.forename: Quincy-Robyn
authors.initials: QR
authors.lastname: Young
authors.affiliation: St. Paul's Hospital, Heart Center, Vancouver, Canada.
authors.forename: Colleen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cannon
authors.affiliation: CoRPS - Center of Research on Psychology in Somatic Diseases, Department of Medical and Clinical Psychology, Tilburg University, Tilburg, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Johan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Denollet
authors.affiliation: CoRPS - Center of Research on Psychology in Somatic Diseases, Department of Medical and Clinical Psychology, Tilburg University, Tilburg, The Netherlands; Erasmus Medical Center, Thoraxcenter, Rotterdam, The Netherlands; Department of Psychology, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark; Department of Cardiology, Odense University Hospital, Odense, Denmark. Electronic address: sspedersen@health.sdu.dk.
authors.forename: Susanne S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Pedersen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001007:Anxiety / Q000453:epidemiology; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology*; D017147:Defibrillators, Implantable / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006304:Health Status; D006353:Heart-Assist Devices / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000453:epidemiology*
keywords: Anxiety and depression; Health status; ICD; Implantable cardioverter defibrillator; LVAD; Left ventricular assist device