SPIRITUAL WELL-BEING AND DEPRESSION IN HEART FAILURE

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This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. An estimated 5 million Americans suffer from heart failure, and 550,000 new cases are diagnosed each year. Depression is a significant problem in heart failure patients. Using diagnostic psychiatric interviews, rates of major depressive disorder range from 14-37% and symptoms of depression are even more common. Heart failure patients with depression have worse short term health status, declines in functional status, increased hospitalization and mortality. Spirituality and religion may protect against depression and despair. While spirituality has been studied in AIDS and cancer patients, it has not been systematically studied in heart failure patients. This is a study to test the feasibility of assessing spiritual well-being in a sample of elderly patients with advance heart failure and to determine if lower levels of spiritual well being are associated with depression. The investigators aim to 1) describe the nature and variation in spiritual well being in heart failure patients, 2) determine the extent of depression and the relationship of degree of depression with spiritual well being, 3) describe how patients use spirituality to cope with illness; 4) determine is severity of heart failure is associated with spiritual well being or depression.