Comparison and validation of three measures of quality of life in patients with pulmonary hypertension

BACKGROUND: Pulmonary hypertension, when advanced, markedly limits exercise capacity, activities of daily living and quality of life (QoL). No measure of QoL has yet been validated for the assessment of pulmonary hypertension. The aim of the study was to compare the validity of the Minnesota Living with Heart Failure (MLwHF) questionnaire, the Short Form-36 (SF-36) questionnaire and the Australian Quality of Life (AQoL) measure for assessing pulmonary hypertension treatment. METHODS: Eighty-three patients were enrolled in three studies of pulmonary hypertension treatment (treprostinil, bosentan and sildenafil). They were assessed at baseline and 3 months with the MLwHF questionnaire. Treprostinil and bosentan groups also had 6 and 12 months' data. Twenty-one patients in the sildenafil trial completed concurrently, the SF-36 and AQoL measures at baseline and 3 months. QoL scores were correlated with the 6-min walk test distance, New York Heart Association functional class and right heart catheter-derived haemodynamic parameters of the disease for all matching time points and for changes in scores and clinical measurements over time. RESULTS: The MLwHF and SF-36 scores correlated well with the 6-min walk test distance and New York Heart Association functional class, but did not correlate with haemodynamic measurements. MLwHF and SF-36 scores also correlated with the rate of change of the 6-min walk test distance and New York Heart Association functional class over time. CONCLUSION: The MLwHF questionnaire and SF-36 are useful tools for the assessment of QoL in pulmonary hypertension and may be useful in the ongoing evaluation of QoL in the treatment and study of pulmonary hypertension.