Vol. 6, Issue 2, Part B (2024)

Background: Heart failure is a complex clinical syndrome that impacts a patient's health and quality of life. Pharmacological management, especially therapy that adheres to established clinical guidelines on patients' health status and quality of life (QoL), reduces mortality and hospitalization of HF patients and ejection fraction (HFrEF).

Objective: To evaluate changing HRQOL and medication prescription in patients with HF during a long- term monitoring program.

Methods: This observational analysis included 118 HF patients who were discharged from the Department of Cardiology after an episode of decompensated heart failure (ICD-10 code I50). HRQoL was observed using the Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire (MLHFQ). Patients were divided into two groups. Group I (N=71, 60.2%) had a decrease in MLHFQ scores of more than 10 points, and Group II (N=47, 39.8%) had stable or less than 10-point increases in MLHFQ scores.

Results: In Group I, there was a statistically significant decrease in the use of ACEI, an increase in the administration of ARNI, and the optimal use of RAAS inhibitors. This group demonstrated substantial improvements in HRQOL across emotional, physical, and social domains. In contrast, Group II exhibited suboptimal usage of RAAS inhibitors and modest improvements in HRQOL.

Conclusion: Group I observed a lower mean LVEF and a higher NYHA class III-IV, pharmacotherapy optimization, ARNI switching, and full use of RAAS inhibitors, significantly improving HRQOL. Despite a higher mean LVEF and a lower NYHA class III-IV, Group II had limited use of RAAS inhibitors, resulting in modest improvement in HRQOL.