Key result
Among heart failure patients with an ICD, 77.3% incorrectly believed the device was implanted to improve heart function or relieve symptoms, and this symptom relief expectation was associated with lower quality of life scores.
Why the study?
What are the perceived benefits of ICD implantation among heart failure patients and how do they relate to quality of life?
Cross-Sectional (n=119)
No
What are the perceived benefits of ICD implantation among heart failure patients and how do they relate to quality of life?
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
A large majority of heart failure patients misunderstand the purpose of ICD implantation, incorrectly believing it improves heart function or symptoms, which correlates with lower quality of life scores.
INTRODUCTION: Patients with heart failure (HF) and implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) may misunderstand the indication of ICDs due to unsatisfactory information. The goal of this study is to evaluate the patient perspective of ICD indication and its relation to quality of life, as well as to identify probable communication gaps between doctors and ICD receivers. METHODS: A total of 119 patients with HF who were implanted with a single-chamber ICD were evaluated in outpatient clinics. Patients with cardiac resynchronization therapy-defibrillators were not included in the study. In a questionnaire, patients were asked about the indication of the ICD procedure and classified according to the perceived benefits. RESULTS: This study showed that most of the patients (n = 92, 77.3%) believed that ICD was implanted for improvement of heart dysfunction or for symptom relief. According to the perceived benefit groups, physical function, general health, vitality, and role physical scores were significantly lower in the symptom relief group (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Patients with HF and ICD mostly believed that the cardioverter defibrillator implanted for improving heart function or symptom relief. Doctors play a significant role when a patient is first referred for ICD because less-informed patients are more prone to misunderstand the procedure's benefits. Moreover, unfulfilled expectations may lead to loss of confidence in applied therapies and result in poor health outcomes.
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Balcı et al. (2015) conducted a cross-sectional in Heart failure with implanted single-chamber ICD (n=119). Implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) vs. Unexposed/reference group (different perceived benefit groups) was evaluated on Belief that ICD was implanted for improvement of heart dysfunction or symptom relief. Among heart failure patients with an ICD, 77.3% incorrectly believed the device was implanted to improve heart function or relieve symptoms, and this symptom relief expectation was associated with lower quality of life scores.
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