Hopelessness and cognitive impairment are risk markers for mortality in systolic heart failure patients

Abstract

Objective: Depression exacerbates the burden of heart failure and independently predicts mortality. The aim of this study was to investigate which specific symptoms of depression predict all-cause mortality in systolic heart failure patients. Methods: Consecutive outpatients with heart failure and impaired left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), attending an Australian metropolitan heart function clinic between 2001 and 2011, were enrolled. The Cardiac Depression Scale (CDS) was completed as a component of usual care. Baseline clinical characteristics were drawn from hospital databases. The primary end-point was all-cause mortality, obtained from the Australian National Death Index. Resul..