Cognitive therapy improves three-month outcomes in hospitalized patients with heart failure

Rebecca L. Dekker, Debra K. Moser, Ann R. Peden, Terry A. Lennie

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

53 Scopus citations

Abstract

Background: Patients with heart failure (HF) experience depressive symptoms that contribute to poorer outcomes. We tested the effects of a brief cognitive therapy intervention on depressive symptoms, negative thinking, health-related quality of life, and cardiac event-free survival. Methods and Results: Hospitalized patients with depressive symptoms (n = 41, 66 ± 11 years, 45% female, 81% New York Heart Association Class III/IV) were randomly assigned to control group or a brief, nurse-delivered cognitive therapy intervention, delivered during hospitalization and followed by a 1-week booster phone call. Depressive symptoms, negative thinking, and health-related quality of life were measured at 1 week and 3 months. Cardiac event-free survival was assessed at 3 months. Mixed models repeated measures analysis of variance, Kaplan-Meier, and Cox regression were used for data analysis. There were significant improvements in depressive symptoms and health-related quality of life in both groups but no interactions between group and time. The control group had shorter 3-month cardiac event-free survival (40% versus 80%, P <.05) and a 3.5 greater hazard of experiencing a cardiac event (P =.04) than the intervention group. Conclusion: Nurses can deliver a brief intervention to hospitalized patients with heart failure that may improve short-term, event-free survival. Future research is needed to verify these results with a larger sample size.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)10-20
Number of pages11
JournalJournal of Cardiac Failure
Volume18
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 2012

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This research was supported by a Philanthropic Educational Organization International Scholar Award. The intellectual contributions of the authors were supported by the University of Kentucky College of Nursing Center for Biobehavioral Research on Self-Management of Cardiopulmonary Disease, NIH, NINR , P20 NR010679 . The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institute of Nursing Research or the National Institutes of Health. This article was written in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the doctoral degree in Nursing at the University of Kentucky.

Keywords

  • Cardiovascular
  • cognitive behavioral therapy
  • depression

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine

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