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 Researchers in Poland found that people who were able to adapt to
their illness reported much more energy, less pain, a brighter
outlook and better sleep than those who couldn’t accept their
illness. They were also less isolated and more active.
Accepting the illness and having a positive attitude may help the
patient cope with the negative emotions, diagnosis and treatment,
said the study’s lead author, Monika Obieglo, a nurse at Wroclaw
Medical University.
Heart failure patients often feel helpless and hopeless, which can
make dealing with their illness more difficult, she told Reuters
Health in an email.
More than 23 million adults worldwide have heart failure, including
5.8 million in the U.S. and close to 1 million in Poland, Obieglo
and her colleagues write in the European Journal of Cardiovascular
Nursing.
A failing heart can't pump enough blood to other parts of the body.
As a result, patients may feel short of breath, fatigued and weak,
and they may have difficulty concentrating, among other symptoms.
Only about 50 percent survive more than five years after diagnosis.
The present study involved 100 patients (68 men and 32 women) being
treated by the university’s cardiology department in 2012 and 2013.
The patients, whose average age was 63 and who had heart failure for
at least six months, answered questionnaires about their energy
levels, pain, emotional reactions, sleep, social isolation and
mobility. They also reported on how much the illness was affecting
their work, socializing and sex lives.
Overall, those who were older than 60 tended to be more isolated
socially, less physically mobile and to feel worse emotionally.
Women reported less energy and mobility than men. And people who
were heavier also had much more pain than others.
When the researchers compared patients’ acceptance levels with their
symptoms and quality of life responses, they found that people who
scored higher for acceptance of their illness had a much better
quality of life.
Indeed, acceptance was the only independent predictor of quality of
life, according to the results.
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Dr. Burhan Mohamedali, a cardiologist at Rush University Medical
Center in Chicago, said the study added important information about
heart failure patients’ ability to weather difficult symptoms.
“Clinically, I completely believe and agree with this paper . . .
people who are accepting of their disease do tend to do much better
in my clinic compared to people who are fighting their disease,”
Mohamedali told Reuters Health.
He was especially interested in the effects of social isolation on
patients and their symptoms.
“This is beautiful, it just adds on to more of what I was thinking
about. The paper definitely answers some of those questions,” said
Mohamedali, who was not involved in the study.
Obieglo said education about heart failure, its symptoms and
treatment can help patients come to grips with their illness. They
need to see not just heart doctors, but also psychologists,
physiotherapists and dietitians, she added.
The report notes that patients who came to terms with their illness
were more likely to feel better emotionally and to follow medical
recommendations.
The study could well be used as a model for other chronic diseases
too, noted Mohamedali, although more research is needed.
SOURCE: http://bit.ly/1CgbEs2 European Journal of Cardiovascular
Nursing, online January 8, 2015.
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