Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
2930793 | International Journal of Cardiology | 2010 | 6 Pages |
BackgroundClinical predictors of cardiac mortality in chronic heart failure (CHF) are established, but less is known about chronic psychological predictors. Therefore, we examined the prognostic value of Type D personality (tendency to experience negative feelings and inhibit self-expression) in CHF patients.Methods and resultsConsecutive systolic CHF outpatients (n = 232) filled in the Type D Scale (DS14) at baseline. Socio-demographic and clinical data were obtained from the medical record/cardiologist. The primary endpoint was total cardiac mortality (follow-up = 30.7 ± 11.1 months). Late (> 6 months) cardiac mortality was the secondary endpoint. Type D patients had a higher incidence of total cardiac mortality (15/48 = 31.3%) as compared to non Type D patients (32/184 = 17.4%), OR = 2.16;95%CI:1.05–4.43, p = .04. Type D personality was a near significant independent predictor of total cardiac mortality (OR = 1.40;95%CI:0.93–4.29, p = .08), and a significant independent predictor of late cardiac mortality, adjusting for sex, age and left ventricular ejection fraction (OR = 2.34;95%CI:1.05–5.26, p = .04).ConclusionsType D personality was a near-significant independent predictor of total cardiac mortality, and a significant independent predictor of late cardiac mortality, adjusting for socio-demographics and disease-severity. These findings suggest that Type D personality, a chronic psychological risk factor, is of importance in long-term prognosis in CHF.