Study of Fatigue and Associated Factors in Patients with Chronic Heart Failure

Abstract

Background: Many factors may be involved in fatigue of patients with chronic heart failure (CHF). Objectives: The present study was conducted to determine fatigue and associated factors in patients with heart failure. Methods: The present descriptive-analytical study was conducted on patients with CHF admitted to Imam Sajjad hospital of Ramsar in 2014. Data collection tools included: 1) multidimensional assessment of fatigue (MAF) scale, 2) the Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI), 3) the hospital anxiety and depression scale (HADS), and 4) demographic characteristics form and the hemoglobin and ejection fraction (EF) records. Data collection was done through interviews and observations. Results: The study was conducted on 100 CHF patients with a mean age of 68.8 ± 11.7 years. Overall, 69% of the patients reported fatigue, and 60.6% claimed severe fatigue. Fatigue was found to be significantly related to sleep disorders and anxiety, but not to depression and hemoglobin. Fatigue was predominantly affected by anxiety. Conclusions: The results of the present study showed that a high percentage of patients with CHF experience fatigue .Fatigue is a subjective phenomenon that is often less attended to and needs to be clinically assessed; to promote health care in these patients, it is required to consider factors such as mood disorders (anxiety and depression) and sleep disorders.