Sexual activity in patients with left ventricular assist devices and their partners: impact of the device on quality of life, anxiety and depression

Kugler, Christiane; Meng, Michael; Rehn, E.; Morshuis, Michiel; Gummert, Jan; Tigges-Limmer, Katharina

doi:10.1093/ejcts/ezx426

Cited by 27 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…The Patient Health Questionnaire Depression Scale 17 measures depressive symptoms with nine items. Total scores vary between 0 and 27 referring to no (0-4), mild (5-9), moderate (10)(11)(12)(13)(14), moderately severe (15)(16)(17)(18)(19), and severe (20-27) depression. Cronbach's alpha in the current sample is 0.90.…”

Section: Measurements Depressionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Based on current knowledge, female caregivers are expected to be significantly more anxious than male LVAD patients. 7,16 With regard to FoP, however, we expect male LVAD patients and female caregivers to be affected to a similar extent. (ii) Furthermore, the interdependence of anxiety, depression, and FoP in patients and partners will be investigated.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Depression, anxiety, fear of progression, and emotional arousal in couples after left ventricular assist device implantation

et al. 2020

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Aims Left ventricular assist device (LVAD) is a common treatment option for patients with heart failure waiting for a donor heart. Living with an LVAD is associated with many burdens and worries. Patients often depend on the support of their relatives, usually their spouses. This can also put a strain on the spouses and be associated with psychological stress for both. In couples, communication proves to be an important form of emotional support. Besides verbal aspects of communication, the extent of emotional arousal (f 0) that is vocally encoded plays an essential role as a non-verbal aspect of communication. This study aims to investigate the psychological impact of LVAD on couples in investigating to what extent depression, anxiety, and fear of progression (FoP) differ between patients and partners, the intrapersonal and interpersonal associations of anxiety, depression, and FoP, and differences in emotional arousal. Methods and results In this cross-sectional study, male LVAD patients and their female partners (N = 21 couples) responded to self-report questionnaires on depression, anxiety, and FoP. Emotional arousal (f 0) was evaluated during social support interactions between both spouses. Female partners experienced more anxiety than male patients (P = 0.016). No differences occurred in depression (P = 0.967) and FoP (P = 0.084). Regarding intrapersonal associations, for patients, correlations appeared between anxiety and depression

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Section: Measurements Depressionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Depression, anxiety, fear of progression, and emotional arousal in couples after left ventricular assist device implantation

et al. 2020

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“…Among all 40 studies, 23 studies focused on LVADs' psychological implications in heart failure patients. Two publications also included the psychological experience of secondary individuals, such as spouses and caregivers of LVAD implantation patients explicitly [ 29 , 31 ]. All 27 publications are available for review in the free full-text form on PubMed and citations on information borrowed from the literature are provided.…”

Section: Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Psychological Spectrum Experienced by Heart Failure Patients After Left Ventricular Assist Device Implantation

Okam

Ahmad

Rana

et al. 2020

Cureus

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Depression and anxiety disorders are prevalent in patients with heart failure. They are associated with adverse effects such as rapid disease progression, poor medication compliance, low quality of life and increased mortality rate. The current literature review aims to provide an overview of the overall rate of depression in patients who receive left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation and identify the psychological phases that these individuals experienced peri- and post-LVAD implantation. A PubMed search using regular and Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) keywords identified 239 articles. After applying inclusion/exclusion criteria, removal of duplicate studies, and careful review of articles, 40 studies provided relevant information on our primary end-point. These 40 studies selected include 13 paid articles with abstracts and 27 free full-text articles comprising eight prospective cohort studies, five retrospective cohort studies, six cross-sectional studies, one qualitative study, one randomized clinical trial, one systematic review, four literature reviews, and one practice guide. Our review shows that patients experienced different psychological phases after LVAD implantation. However, as the time from implantation progressed, these patients showed a significant improvement in depression, anxiety, and health-related quality of life.

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“… 24 – 26 Finally, anxiety and depression is common in PAH and it is conceivable that this may be driven in part by as yet unquantified effects on sexual relationships and feelings of intimacy. 27 – 29 …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sexual health and health‐related quality of life among women with pulmonary arterial hypertension

et al. 2018

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Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is characterized by progressive limitations in physical activity and health-related quality of life (HRQoL). HRQoL deficits may extend beyond the traditional domains of physical activity, psychological health, and emotional wellbeing to sexual health and function. Sexual HRQoL has not been studied in PAH, nor has the impact of PAH therapies themselves on sexual health and intimacy. In this initial investigation, we sought to explore HRQoL among women diagnosed with PAH and to determine if PAH treatment type (intravenous or subcutaneous prostanoids versus oral medications) was associated with levels of self-reported HRQoL assessed by validated measures for PAH-specific, general, and sexual HRQoL. We administered the emPHasis-10, Short Form (SF)-36, Female Sexual Dysfunction Scale-Revised (FSDS-R), and the Arizona Sexual Experience Scale (ASEX) to 35 women with self-reported World Health Organization Group 1 PAH at the 2016 Pulmonary Hypertension Association International Conference and Scientific Sessions. HRQoL instruments demonstrated excellent internal reliability. Women with PAH had high levels of sexual distress captured with the FSDS-R scale. The FSDS-R (but not ASEX) was significantly correlated to emPHasis-10 (r = 0.64, p < 0.01) and most SF-36 domains (r = − 0.36 to − 0.64, p < 0.05). Participants treated with intravenous or subcutaneous prostanoids had higher (worse) FSDS-R scores than those on oral therapies while ASEX, emPHasis-10, and SF-36 scores were similar across treatment types. Sexual HRQoL may impact overall quality of life in PAH and specific assessment of sexual health and functioning within intimate relationships may detect deficits in wellbeing not addressed by established HRQoL metrics. Further study to address all aspects of HRQoL in PAH is required.

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Sexual activity in patients with left ventricular assist devices and their partners: impact of the device on quality of life, anxiety and depression

Abstract: Disturbances in sexual activity are common in patients with an LVAD and their partners while the patients are on durable long-term support. Counselling on long-term adjustment should provide a platform for information seeking on illness-related changes in the quality of sexual activity.

Cited by 27 publications

References 23 publications

Depression, anxiety, fear of progression, and emotional arousal in couples after left ventricular assist device implantation

Depression, anxiety, fear of progression, and emotional arousal in couples after left ventricular assist device implantation

Psychological Spectrum Experienced by Heart Failure Patients After Left Ventricular Assist Device Implantation

Sexual health and health‐related quality of life among women with pulmonary arterial hypertension

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