MedPath

A Self-Management Intervention for Mild to Moderate Heart Failure

Phase 3
Completed
Conditions
Cardiovascular Diseases
Heart Diseases
Heart Failure, Congestive
Registration Number
NCT00018005
Lead Sponsor
Lynda Powell, PhD, MEd
Brief Summary

This study will test whether a self-management (SM) intervention, compared to usual care, will reduce the risk for adverse clinical outcome in patients with mild to moderate heart failure.

Detailed Description

BACKGROUND:

Heart failure is a major disabling disease for American adults, affecting an estimated 4.9 million individuals. Heart failure is associated with enormous health care expenditures. This is because it is a progressive chronic condition that is characterized by disabling symptoms that limit independence and result in multiple hospitalizations and referrals to long-term care. The emergence of heart failure as a major public health problem is related to the unintended result of both an aging population and the success in reducing mortality from cardiovascular disease. Non-adherence to medications is a key problem in the treatment of heart failure, with adherence rates ranging from 20% to 90%. There is a clear need, therefore, to develop interventions that improve adherence in patients with heart failure.

DESIGN NARRATIVE:

This is a single-site, partially blinded, randomized clinical trial of 900 patients with systolic or diastolic dysfunction, and New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class II or III. Patients will be recruited over a period of 2 years from seven hospitals. Patients will be randomly assigned to either a SM intervention or attention control. The SM group will meet 18 times for 2 hours over 1 year. These group sessions will teach patients how to use five basic self-management skills (self-monitoring, environmental restructuring, social support, cognitive restructuring, and the relaxation response) to help build self-efficacy and maintain it after the treatment has been discontinued. The attention control arm will consist of an educational intervention which includes 18 mailings of the American Heart Association Tip Sheets over the course of the first year, plus a telephone follow-up with the patient after each mailing to check receipt and comprehension of the Tip Sheet, and to address any questions about the Tip Sheet. Treatment effects will be evaluated using the primary outcome of hospitalization for heart failure or death, and the secondary outcomes of progression of heart failure, quality of life, and health care costs. Potential mediators of effectiveness will include improved adherence and improved psychosocial function.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
COMPLETED
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
902
Inclusion Criteria
  • NYHA classification of II or III
  • LVEF of 40% or less
Exclusion Criteria
  • Uncertain 12-month prognosis
  • Potential cardiac transplant within 1 year of study entry
  • Severe aortic stenosis
  • Uncontrolled ventricular tachycardia
  • Non-cardiac causes of heart failure symptoms (i.e., peripheral vascular disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and arthritis)
  • Major psychiatric co-morbidity
  • Unstable angina, myocardial infarction, coronary artery bypass graft, or percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty within 1 month prior to study entry

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
PARALLEL
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Time until all-cause death or heart-failure hospitalizationMeasured over the two years of study follow-up.

This is a composite outcome, measuring time from randomization to occurrence of death due to any cause or a hospitalization that is adjudicated to be due to heart-failure, among participants who experience either (or both) of these events. Only the first occurrence of either of these events is considered.

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Progression of heart failureMeasured over the two years of study follow-up

Measured using change in NYHA Class and Six-Minute Walk distance, from baseline.

Quality of lifeMeasured over the two years of study follow-up

Measured using self-report heart-failure-specific quality of life scales.

Health care costsMeasured over the two years of study follow-up
Time until all-cause death or all-cause hospitalizationMeasured over the two years of study follow-up

This is a composite outcome, measuring time from randomization to occurrence of death due to any cause or hospitalization for any reason, among participants who experience either (or both) of these events. Only the first occurrence of either of these events is considered.

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Rush-Presbyterian-St. Lukes Medical Center

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Chicago, Illinois, United States

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