Spirituality May Improve Quality of Life for Heart Failure Patients

A new literature review of 47 articles conducted by researchers at Duke University found that spirituality can have a positive impact on quality of life (QOL) and patient outcomes in heart failure, when the heart muscle doesn't pump blood as well as it should. 

With advances in heart failure treatment, patients are living longer, which puts emphasis on QOL for heart failure patients. Palliative care is recommended for patients with heart failure, and spirituality, defined as how individuals find meaning and purpose in life, is a core domain of palliative care. Spirituality can be separate from religious beliefs.

Previous studies have suggested that spirituality serves as a potential target for palliative care interventions to improve QOL, caregiver support, and patient outcomes including rehospitalization and mortality. Researchers suggested the development of a spirituality-screening tool (similar to the Patient Health Questionnaire-2 used to screen for depression) to identity patients with heart failure at risk for spiritual distress.

Further controlled trials and uniform measures of spirituality are needed to better understand its impact on heart failure patients.