The impact of heart failure clinic in the improvement on quality of life of heart failure patients in Mexico.
Heart failure clinic (HFC) has emerged as an innovative strategy to improve prognosis and Quality of Life (QOL) of Heart Failure (HF) patients. Unfortunately, there is no-evidence of such benefit on HF patients by HFC in Latin-America. We undertake a research to investigate the impact of HFC on QOL in HF patients in Mexico. From October 2004 to July 2005 all patients that attended for the first time the HFC of the Specialties Hospital No 14 in Veracruz, Mexico were analysed. The study group included patients with HF and left ventricular systolic dysfunction (LVSD). QOL was measured by the Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire (MLHFQ). MLHFQ score was compared between basal vs 6 months follow-up. Every patient served as his/her own control. Forty-five HF patients were included and 34 completed 6 months follow-up. Four patients died within 6 months (mortality rate 12% [95% CI 2-22%]). Of the 30 remaining patients, median age was 61 years (range 37-74 years) and 47% was women with a mean left ventricular ejection fraction of 34%. The MLHFQ had a significant reduction at 6 months compared with basal condition from the first evaluation (Basal vs 6 months: mean [SD], 50 [26] vs 31 [19]; p = 0.0001) with a strong correlation between the MLHFQ score and NYHA functional class (p = 0.001; r = 0.59). HFC improves QOL of HF patients in Mexico. This disease management strategy would be considered for widely use in Latin-America countries.