Clinical & Experimental Cardiology
Open Access

Health related quality of life in couples before and after LVAD implantation

2^nd World Heart Congress

May 14-16, 2018 Tokyo, Japan

Finja Junemann, Christoph Bara and Tanja Zimmermann

Hannover Medical School, Germany

Posters & Accepted Abstracts: J Clin Exp Cardiolog

Abstract :

Left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation may have significant psychological impact on both, patients and their partners. Couples experience psychological distress and a higher risk for anxiety, depression and lower quality of life (HrQoL). The current study investigates HrQoL in male patients and their female spouses before and after LVAD-implantation. Moreover, impact factors of patient and spouse on HrQoL were examined. N=27 patients and partners so far rated their HrQoL after LVAD implantation and also retrospective before the implantation. Time since implantation varied between 0.46 and 8.29 years (M=3.17, SD=1.98) years. The mean age of patients/partners was 63.5 (SD=9.43, 48-78)/61.92 (SD=9.5, 45-77) years. Preliminary results showed that patients rated their physical and mental HrQoL before the implantation significantly lower than their partners. After the implantation, mental HrQoL increases for patients while partners mental and physical HrQoL decreases below the average of the general population. Time since implantation seems not to impact HrQoL. Patients and partners differ in terms of their HrQoL. In addition, LVAD implantation seems to impact HrQoL of patients and partners in a different way.

Biography :

Finja Junemann is currently pursuing her Medical degree from Hannover Medical School, Germany. She investigates the psychological and medical functioning of couples with LVAD implantation.
Email:juenemann.finja@mh-hannover.de