A recent study found that heart failure patients are at an increased risk of dying if they experience bereavement. Researchers at Karolinska Universitetssjukhuset, Sweden, analyzed medical data from regarding 500,000 heart failure patients over the past 30 years, and found that heart failure patients who experienced great grief, such as the loss of a loved one or family member, were within the next four years. They found that the chance of dying increased by 5 to 20 percent.
Bereavement significantly increases mortality in heart failure patients
According to the researchers, there was a significant increase in mortality among heart failure patients who experienced bereavement, regardless of the cause. In particular, it was found that the increase was different depending on the relationship between the patient and the deceased. For example, the death rate for heart failure patients who lost a spouse increased by regarding 20%, while those who lost a sibling increased by regarding 13%. Loss of a child or grandchild increased by 10% and 5%, respectively.
There was also a change in the mortality rate according to the passage of time following bereavement. The period with the highest increase in mortality was the first week following bereavement, with an average increase of 78%. The increase also varied depending on the relationship, with a 31% increase when a child died and a 113% increase when a spouse died.
The researchers said, “Through this discovery, we know that heart failure patients need special attention and active help from doctors and people around them when they experience a bereavement.”
2nd leading cause of death in Korea, heart disease
Heart failure is a disease in which cardiac function is lowered by various heart disease-causing factors such as arteriosclerosis, high blood pressure, diabetes, and congenital heart disease. In patients with heart failure, the heart becomes unable to pump blood properly. If the disease is left untreated, the acute and chronic phases repeat, worsening the symptoms and leading to death. According to statistics, the prognosis is very poor, with a mortality rate of 6-7 out of 10 within 5 years of onset. Experts say that the prognosis of heart failure is worse than that of cancer. As of last year, heart disease, such as heart failure, was the second leading cause of death in Korea.
What are the symptoms of heart failure?
Symptoms suggestive of heart failure include shortness of breath, ankle swelling, and chronic fatigue. Most of them are non-specific, and there are often no symptoms in the early stages, so most of the diseases are not recognized. “If you have heart failure, you get short of breath just walking up the stairs,” said Kim Seong-hee, a cardiologist at Hidak Cardiology. Explaining the symptoms in detail, he said, “Your heart may be pounding and there may be pain.”
He added, “In the beginning, there are many cases of shortness of breath during exercise, but as the disease progresses, at the end of the day, breathing becomes short even following rest.” Director Kim Seong-hee advised, “If the above symptoms repeat, you must visit the nearest cardiologist for examination and treatment.” If heart failure is not treated, it is highly likely to cause sudden death, so it is recommended to have regular check-ups following the age of 60, when the prevalence is rapidly increasing.
Help = Hidak Consulting Doctor Sunghee Kim (German Heart Clinic Cardiology Specialist)
