Daily tasks predict hospitalization, death for heart failure patients

By Kathryn Doyle (Reuters Health) – - Heart failure patients who struggle with daily tasks like bathing or dressing are more likely to be hospitalized and tend to die sooner than those who are more independent, according to a new study. More than five million people in the U.S. have heart failure, meaning their hearts cannot supply enough blood and oxygen to other organs, and about half die within five years of diagnosis, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “I certainly suspected that patients who had increasing difficulty with daily living would be at increased risk for death,” but just how accurately a brief questionnaire could predict hospitalization and death was surprising, said Dr. Shannon Dunlay, lead author of the study and an advanced heart failure cardiologist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. For the study, more than 1,000 people with heart failure, and an average age of 75, filled out questionnaires assessing their ability to perform nine activities of daily living, including feeding themselves, dressing, using the toilet, housekeeping, climbing stairs, walking and bathing.



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