Improving Quality of Life in Heart Failure.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Heart failure has substantial effects on health-related quality of life. Maintaining or improving quality of life is an important goal of heart failure therapy, and many patients value better quality of life over greater longevity.

RECENT FINDINGS

The symptoms and functional severity of heart failure, medical comorbidities, and depression are the strongest predictors of poor quality of life. Guideline-recommended medical and behavioral interventions for HF, including exercise training and cardiac rehabilitation, self-care interventions, and treatment of depression, can help to improve quality of life. Heart failure is, in most cases, a progressive condition with a poor prognosis. However, poor quality of life is not inevitable, and a variety of medical, surgical, and nonpharmacological interventions can help to maintain or improve quality of life in patients with heart failure.