Gender differences in the health related quality of life of older adults with heart failure.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to explore whether gender differences exist in health-related quality of life for older adult men and women with heart failure.

DESIGN: A secondary data analysis was conducted on an existing dataset of heart failure patients. The original study used an exploratory, correlational longitudinal design.

SUBJECTS: 138 subjects (69 men and 69 women) with heart failure completed both data points of the study.

RESULTS: Men and women were similar on the number and types of heart failure-related symptoms they experienced. Twenty-seven percent of the subjects could be classified as depressed. The men had better physical functioning than the women did with gender making a greater contribution to physical functioning than age or marital status. Twenty-three percent of the subjects were rehospitalized 4 to 6 weeks after the initial hospital discharge.

CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that the health related quality of life for older men and women with heart failure is significantly impacted by heart failure. Older men and women have similar heart failure symptoms, depression, and rehospitalization following a hospital admission for heart failure. Both older men and older women with heart failure have impairments in their physical functioning with older women more physically impaired than older men.