title: What is your patient's cognitive profile? Three distinct subgroups of cognitive function in persons with heart failure.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to determine whether patients with heart failure (HF) have distinct profiles of cognitive impairment.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Cognitive impairment is common in HF. Recent work found three cognitive profiles in HF patients-(1) intact, (2) impaired, and (3) memory-impaired. We examined the reproducibility of these profiles and clarified mechanisms.
  
  
  METHODS
  HF patients (68.6 ± 9.7 years; N=329) completed neuropsychological testing. Composite scores were created for cognitive domains and used to identify clusters via agglomerative-hierarchical cluster analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A 3-cluster solution emerged. Cluster 1 (n=109) had intact cognition. Cluster 2 (n=123) was impaired across all domains. Cluster 3 (n=97) had impaired memory only. Clusters differed in age, race, education, SES, IQ, BMI, and diabetes (ps ≤ .026) but not in mood, anxiety, cardiovascular, or pulmonary disease (ps ≥ .118).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We replicated three distinct patterns of cognitive function in persons with HF. These profiles may help providers offer tailored care to patients with different cognitive and clinical needs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Kent State University, Kent, OH. Electronic address: mhawki15@kent.edu.
authors.forename: Misty A W
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Hawkins
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Kent State University, Kent, OH.
authors.forename: Julie T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Schaefer
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Kent State University, Kent, OH.
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gunstad
authors.affiliation: Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH.
authors.forename: Mary A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Dolansky
authors.affiliation: Cardiovascular Research Institute, Summa Health System, Akron City Hospital, Akron, OH.
authors.forename: Joseph D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Redle
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH; Harrington Heart & Vascular Institute, University Hospitals, Cleveland, OH.
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Josephson
authors.affiliation: Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH.
authors.forename: Shirley M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Moore
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Kent State University, Kent, OH; Cardiovascular Research Institute, Summa Health System, Akron City Hospital, Akron, OH.
authors.forename: Joel W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Hughes
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003071:Cognition; D005260:Female; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests
keywords: Cardiovascular disease; Cluster analysis; Cognitive profiles; Neuropsychological performance; Older adults