Quality of life among patients with left ventricular assist device: Comparison of two populations

Abstract

Background: This study aims to evaluate quality of life among patients with an implanted left ventricular assist device in two different populations. Methods: This cross-sectional study included a total of 20 patients (15 males, 5 females; mean age 41.8 +/- 13.4 years; range, 20 to 65 years) from Turkey and 40 patients (33 males, 7 females; mean age 55.1 +/- 11.6 years; range, 21 to 76 years) from Germany who underwent left ventricular assist device implantation and reached their third month of treatment between January 2016 and August 2016. The Euro Quality of Life-5 Dimension Questionnaire and Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire-12 were used to assess quality of life of both groups. Results: Sixty-five percent of the German patients returned to work, while none of the Turkish patients returned after implantation (p=0.000). The Turkish (70%) and German (40%) patients reported that they had difficulty in living with a left ventricular assist device (p=0.028). The mean Euro Quality of Life-5 Dimension Questionnaire visual analog scale scores of the Turkish and German patients were 70.50% and 62.38%, respectively. The mean Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire-12 scores of the Turkish patients were significantly higher than those of the German patients (p=0.01). Conclusion: Left ventricular assist device implantation improved the quality of life of both Turkish and German patients. Turkish patients with left ventricular assist device should be encouraged to adopt a more independent life, not to limit their lives to home and to return to work according to their functional capacity.