Supervisors info:
Ι. Μιχόπουλος, Αναπληρωτής Καθηγητής, Ιατρική Σχολή, ΕΚΠΑ
Χρ, Χριστοδούλου, Αναπληρωτής Καθηγητής, Ιατρική Σχολή, ΕΚΠΑ
Ανδρ. Καραμπίνης, Καθηγητής, Ιατρική Σχολή, ΕΚΠΑ
Summary:
The purpose of the present cross-sectional study is the investigation of important psychological factors such as fatigue, insomnia, anxiety and depression on patients who have undergone a heart transplant or patients dependent on life-support. This study included 89 individuals who have undergone a heart transplant, 19 individuals on life-support (VAD), as well as 53 healthy controls. All participants completed the Fatigue Severity Scale, the Athens Insomnia Scale and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. According to the results the majority of life-support patients (63,2%) show high levels of fatigue almost two-fold than heart-transplant patients (39,3), while fatigue levels of healthy participants were found significantly lower (5,7%). Patients on life-support (21,1%) also present higher observed levels of insomnia than the patients who have received a heart transplant (11,2%) and the controls (7,5%), nevertheless these differences did not reach statistical significance. Patients on life-support presented significantly higher levers of anxiety (26,3%) in comparison with heart transplant patients (6,7%) and healthy controls (7,5%) who present relatively similar levels of anxiety. Higher levels of depression were also observed in life-support patients (31,6%) in relation to heart transplant patients (3.4%) and heathy controls (3,8%), who present levels that are significantly low. From the aforementioned results it can be concluded that patients on life-support are considerably more burdened with fatigue, insomnia, anxiety and depression symptoms in comparison with people who have undergone a heart transplant. Therefore, a heart transplant improves not only the physical but the psychological health of patients, allowing them to return to an everyday routine that tends to present similar levels of mental health prosperity as healthy subjects.
