Quality of life in heart failure. The heart of the matter. A scientific statement of the Heart Failure Association and the European Association of Preventive Cardiology of the European Society of Cardiology - Scorecard - MDSpire
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Quality of life in heart failure. The heart of the matter. A scientific statement of the Heart Failure Association and the European Association of Preventive Cardiology of the European Society of Cardiology
Clinical Scorecard: Assessing Quality of Life in Heart Failure: A Comprehensive Statement from the Heart Failure Association and the European Association of Preventive Cardiology within the European Society of Cardiology
At a Glance
Category
Detail
Condition
Heart Failure (HF)
Key Mechanisms
Physical and psychological symptoms including dyspnoea, chest discomfort, fatigue, fluid congestion, sleep difficulties, and depression leading to reduced functional capacity and quality of life
Target Population
Patients with chronic, progressive heart failure
Care Setting
Clinical practice and clinical trials within cardiology and preventive cardiology settings
Key Highlights
Patients with HF have significantly worse quality of life and exercise intolerance compared to general population and other chronic conditions.
Quality of life (QoL) is a critical patient-centered outcome increasingly recognized alongside traditional endpoints like hospitalization and mortality.
Disease-specific QoL questionnaires such as the Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire (MLHFQ) and Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire (KCCQ) are validated tools recommended for assessing patient-reported outcomes.
Guideline-Based Recommendations
Diagnosis
Use validated patient-reported outcome (PRO) questionnaires to assess QoL in HF patients.
Incorporate disease-specific tools like KCCQ and MLHFQ for comprehensive evaluation of symptom burden and functional status.
Management
Integrate QoL assessment systematically into HF care to guide shared clinical decision-making.
Address physical and psychological symptoms impacting QoL including dyspnoea, fatigue, and depression.
Monitoring & Follow-up
Regularly monitor QoL using standardized questionnaires to evaluate treatment impact and disease progression.
Utilize QoL data to inform healthcare utilization and prognosis.
Risks
Limited implementation of QoL assessments due to feasibility, interpretability, language barriers, and lack of clear prognostic role.
Unpredictable HF progression negatively affects patient QoL and complicates management.
Patient & Prescribing Data
Patients with chronic heart failure experiencing physical and psychological symptoms affecting daily activities and well-being
Patients prioritize quality of life over longevity, with many willing to trade survival time for improved health and symptom relief, underscoring the importance of QoL-focused therapies.
Clinical Best Practices
Adopt standardized, validated QoL questionnaires such as KCCQ and MLHFQ in routine clinical practice.
Recognize QoL as a multidimensional construct including physical, psychological, and social domains.
Promote patient-centered care by integrating patient-reported outcomes into clinical decision-making and treatment evaluation.
by Maurizio Volterrani, Geza Halasz, Stamatis Adamopoulos, Pier Giuseppe Agostoni, Javed Butler, Andrew J S Coats, Alan Cohen-Solal, Wolfram Doehner, Gerasimos Filippatos, Ewa Jankowska, Carolyn S P Lam, Ekaterini Lambrinou, Lars H Lund, Giuseppe Rosano, Marco Metra, Stefania Paolillo, Pasquale Perrone Filardi, Amina Rakisheva, Gianluigi Savarese, Petar Seferovic, Carlo Gabriele Tocchetti, Massimo Piepoli
