Health-Related Quality of Life in Heart Failure Management

Heart failure represents a major global health burden, with advances in survival underscoring the importance of patient-centred outcomes. Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) captures individuals’ perceptions of physical functioning, emotional well-being and social engagement in the context of chronic cardiac dysfunction. Standardised instruments—such as the Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire (MLHFQ), the Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire and the generic Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36)—enable systematic assessment of symptom burden, activity limitation and psychological distress. Influencing factors include ventricular function (ejection fraction), comorbidities such as diabetes and depression, sociodemographic variables (age, gender, education) and the availability of social support. Therapeutic strategies that combine optimised pharmacological regimens, device therapy and structured exercise-based rehabilitation have been shown to improve HRQoL scores, while psychological and self-management interventions mitigate uncertainty and depressive symptoms. The advent of remote monitoring and mobile health applications further supports timely symptom control and patient engagement. Psychometric validation and determination of minimal clinically important differences guide clinicians in evaluating meaningful change. Culturally adapted, multidisciplinary care pathways—integrating nutritional advice, psychological support and social services—are essential to enhance global HRQoL and promote functional independence in individuals living with heart failure.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Recent studies have assessed HRQoL influencers across diverse settings. A hospital-based cross-sectional investigation among Ethiopian outpatients employed a validated questionnaire to quantify HRQoL and identified age, comorbid diabetes, social support and depressive symptoms as significant determinants of overall quality of life. Findings emphasise the need for routine psychosocial screening and integrated interventions that address mental health and social networks alongside standard heart failure management to improve patient-reported outcomes.

Health-Related Quality of Life in Heart Failure Management publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in health-related quality of life in heart failure management across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Health-related quality of life (HRQoL): A multidimensional measure of physical, emotional and social well-being in relation to health.

Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire (MLHFQ): A disease-specific tool assessing physical and emotional impacts of heart failure on daily life.

Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36): A generic instrument measuring eight domains of health status, including physical and mental components.

Ejection fraction: The percentage of blood ejected from the left ventricle with each heartbeat, indicating systolic function.

Structural equation modelling (SEM): A statistical approach to assess relationships among observed and latent variables, often used to explore mediating effects.

References

1. Health-related quality of life and its influencing factors among people with heart failure in Ethiopia: using the revised Wilson and Cleary model. Scientific Reports (2023).
2. Quality of Life for Saudi Patients With Heart Failure: A Cross-Sectional Correlational Study. Global Journal of Health Science (2015).
3. Uncertainty and depressive symptoms as mediators of quality of life in patients with heart failure. PLOS ONE (2018).
4. Responsiveness and minimal clinically important difference of the Minnesota living with heart failure questionnaire. Health and Quality of Life Outcomes (2019).
5. Gender Differences in Health-Related Quality of Life in Patients with Systolic Heart Failure: Results of the VIDA Multicenter Study. Journal of Clinical Medicine (2020).