QUALITY OF LIFE OF ELDERLY PEOPLE WITH HEART FAILURE

Abstract

Objective: To analyze the quality of life of elderly patients diagnosed with heart failure in an outpatient clinic of a university hospital in Salvador, State of Bahia, Brazil. Material and Method: Evaluative study performed with 68 patients with heart failure. Data was collected from WHOQOL-OLD and BREF scales and then analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results: There was similar gender representation. Most of the participants were between 60 to 69 years old (64.7%), retired (86.8%), had attended primary school (83.8%), received 1 to 3 minimum wages (92.6%), lived with 1 or more people (82.3%) and 72.1% were the sole providers of their families. The elements related to the Physical (83.8%) and Environmental Domain (86.8%) were linked to a worse quality of life (average 1.96 and 1.76 of 5, respectively) and those related to Sensory Functioning (51.5%) and Death and Dying (47.1%) were linked to a better quality of life (average 2.43 and 2.28 of 5, respectively). Conclusion: The quality of life of the assessed population is worse than expected. The impact from heart disease and the increase in aging globally makes this study essential for the development of strategies to control the disease, improve the quality of life and reduce healthcare costs.