Assessment of Depression in Heart Failure Patients

Prioritizing symptom management in the treatment of chronic heart failure

Chronic heart failure (CHF) is a chronic, progressive disease that has detrimental consequences on a patient's quality of life (QoL). In part due to requirements for market access and licensing, the assessment of current and future treatments focuses on reducing mortality and hospitalizations. Few drugs are available principally for their symptomatic effect despite the fact that most patients' symptoms persist or worsen over time and an acceptance that the survival gains of modern therapies are mitigated by poorly controlled symptoms. Additional contributors to the failure to focus on symptoms could be the result of under‐reporting of symptoms by patients and carers and a reliance on insensitive symptomatic categories in which patients frequently remain despite additional therapies. Hence, formal symptom assessment tools, such as questionnaires, can be useful prompts to encourage more fidelity and reproducibility in the assessment of symptoms. This scoping review explores for the first time the assessment options and management of common symptoms in CHF with a focus on patient‐reported outcome tools. The integration of patient‐reported outcomes for symptom assessment into the routine of a CHF clinic could improve the monitoring of disease progression and QoL, especially following changes in treatment or intervention with a targeted symptom approach expected to improve QoL and patient outcomes.

Excessive Daytime Sleepiness Is Associated With Depression Scores, But Not With Sleep-Disordered Breathing in Patients With Cardiovascular Diseases

BACKGROUND

Excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) is a significant public health concern, with sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) being a common cause. However, their precise relationship in patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD) is unclear. Furthermore, whether comorbid psychological disorders could contribute to EDS remains unknown. We aimed to assess the prevalence of EDS and its related factors, including SDB and depression, in patients with CVD.Methods and Results:We analyzed data from 1,571 patients admitted for various CVDs in a single university hospital (median age, 67 [56-76] years; 29.6% women). We assessed EDS using the Japanese version of the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS; median 6.0 [4.0-9.0]). The presence of EDS (ESS >10, n=297 [18.9%]) did not differ between patients with and without SDB, which was screened with nocturnal pulse oximetry. In contrast, the patients with EDS had higher depression scores (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale subscore for depression [HADS-D] and Patient Healthcare Questionnaire [PHQ]-9). The depression scores, measured by HADS-D (odds ratio [OR] 1.14; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.07-1.22) and PHQ-9 (OR, 1.14; 95% CI, 1.07-1.20) were independent determinants of EDS. These relationships among EDS, SDB, and depression were consistent among the subgroups with cardiovascular comorbidities.

CONCLUSIONS

The presence of EDS is associated with depressive symptoms, but not with SDB, in patients with CVD, suggesting that these patients should be thoroughly assessed for psychological disturbances.

Waon Therapy for Managing Chronic Heart Failure - Results From a Multicenter Prospective Randomized WAON-CHF Study

BACKGROUND

Waon therapy improves heart failure (HF) symptoms, but further evidence in patients with advanced HF remains uncertain.

METHODS AND RESULTS

In 19 institutes, we prospectively enrolled hospitalized patients with advanced HF, who had plasma levels of B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) >500 pg/ml on admission and BNP >300 pg/ml regardless of more than 1 week of medical therapy. Enrolled patients were randomized into Waon therapy or control groups. Waon therapy was performed once daily for 10 days with a far infrared-ray dry sauna maintained at 60℃ for 15 min, followed by bed rest for 30 min covered with a blanket. The primary endpoint was the ratio of BNP before and after treatment. In total, 76 Waon therapy and 73 control patients (mean age 66 years, men 61%, mean plasma BNP 777 pg/ml) were studied. The groups differed only in body mass index and the frequency of diabetes. The plasma BNP, NYHA classification, 6-min walk distance (6MWD), and cardiothoracic ratio significantly improved only in the Waon therapy group. Improvements in NYHA classification, 6MWD, and cardiothoracic ratio were significant in the Waon therapy group, although the change in plasma BNP did not reach statistical significance. No serious adverse events were observed in either group.

CONCLUSIONS

Waon therapy, a holistic soothing warmth therapy, showed clinical advantages in safety and efficacy among patients with advanced HF.

Depression ratings and antidepressant use among outpatient heart failure patients: implications for the screening and treatment of depression

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the characteristics of antidepressant use among heart failure (HF) outpatients.

METHODS

Self-reported data on antidepressant use, Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) ratings, and demographics, as well as HF diagnosis severity, was collected from 218 New York Heart Association (NYHA) Classes I-IV HF outpatients (mean age 57.29 years).

RESULTS

The overall prevalence of depressive symptoms (BDI > 10) was 43.1% (n = 94); 23.4% had a prior diagnosis of depression. Thirty-three percent of patients were taking antidepressants but, despite this treatment, 64% still showed at least mild-moderate depressive symptoms (BDI > or = 10) compared to 34% of patients not currently receiving antidepressants (p = 0.05). When asked if their mood had improved as a result of antidepressant therapy, 45% reported responses ranging from "halfway back to normal" to no improvement at all; BDI scores were related to self-reports of how well antidepressant therapy affected patient's mood (p < .01). Among patients receiving antidepressants (primarily SSRIs), 26% did not have a formal depression diagnosis prior to receiving antidepressants, and 39.1% reported never having had a dose adjustment in antidepressant medication. Similar numbers of patients were prescribed antidepressants by primary care physicians as mental health providers, while much fewer cardiologists prescribed antidepressants.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings provide insight into practice and provider patterns related to antidepressant use in HF. HF patients treated with antidepressants still show high rates of depressed mood, and follow-up and monitoring of effectiveness of antidepressant therapy needs attention. Effective treatment of depression could support improved clinical outcomes and better quality of life for HF patients.