Abstract
Left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) have progressively evolved, particularly in the last 10 years, to serve patients affected by severe heart failure as a bridge to transplant or destination therapy. The survival rate and quality of life of pre- and postimplant patients, as well as caregivers' perceptions and distress, are under investigation by the scientific community. But what caregivers think and feel after the loss of their loved one has not so far been examined. We contacted 16 principal caregivers of deceased LVAD patients by telephone. They were asked to evaluate their experience with LVADs and were administered a specific questionnaire about their mourning, the Caregiver Mourning Questionnaire (CMQ), to evaluate their perceptions of the physical, emotional, and social support-related problems that they had experienced during the previous 3 months. Positive aspects reported by the caregivers were the patient's overall subjective well-being and increased survival. Negative aspects were the difficulty to manage infections and the driveline, and the incomplete autonomy of the patient. Half of the caregivers reported not being preadvised about many of the problems they would face. The CMQ revealed that numerous caregivers had health problems, difficulty in sleeping, eating disorders, lack of energy, and loneliness. Use of psychotropic drugs and regrets about how they assisted their loved one also emerged. In conclusion, caregivers of LVAD patients may experience complicated mourning. Our data support in particular the need for an early intervention of palliative care which could prevent or reduce complicated mourning.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal | Artificial Organs |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2016 |
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Keywords
- Caregiver
- Left ventricular assist device
- Mourning
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Biomaterials
- Biomedical Engineering
- Bioengineering
- Medicine (miscellaneous)
Cite this
When LVAD Patients Die : The Caregiver's Mourning. / Rossi Ferrario, Silvia; Omarini, Pierangela; Cerutti, Paola; Balestroni, Giangluigi; Omarini, Giovanna; Pistono, Massimo.
In: Artificial Organs, 2016.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - When LVAD Patients Die
T2 - The Caregiver's Mourning
AU - Rossi Ferrario, Silvia
AU - Omarini, Pierangela
AU - Cerutti, Paola
AU - Balestroni, Giangluigi
AU - Omarini, Giovanna
AU - Pistono, Massimo
PY - 2016
Y1 - 2016
N2 - Left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) have progressively evolved, particularly in the last 10 years, to serve patients affected by severe heart failure as a bridge to transplant or destination therapy. The survival rate and quality of life of pre- and postimplant patients, as well as caregivers' perceptions and distress, are under investigation by the scientific community. But what caregivers think and feel after the loss of their loved one has not so far been examined. We contacted 16 principal caregivers of deceased LVAD patients by telephone. They were asked to evaluate their experience with LVADs and were administered a specific questionnaire about their mourning, the Caregiver Mourning Questionnaire (CMQ), to evaluate their perceptions of the physical, emotional, and social support-related problems that they had experienced during the previous 3 months. Positive aspects reported by the caregivers were the patient's overall subjective well-being and increased survival. Negative aspects were the difficulty to manage infections and the driveline, and the incomplete autonomy of the patient. Half of the caregivers reported not being preadvised about many of the problems they would face. The CMQ revealed that numerous caregivers had health problems, difficulty in sleeping, eating disorders, lack of energy, and loneliness. Use of psychotropic drugs and regrets about how they assisted their loved one also emerged. In conclusion, caregivers of LVAD patients may experience complicated mourning. Our data support in particular the need for an early intervention of palliative care which could prevent or reduce complicated mourning.
AB - Left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) have progressively evolved, particularly in the last 10 years, to serve patients affected by severe heart failure as a bridge to transplant or destination therapy. The survival rate and quality of life of pre- and postimplant patients, as well as caregivers' perceptions and distress, are under investigation by the scientific community. But what caregivers think and feel after the loss of their loved one has not so far been examined. We contacted 16 principal caregivers of deceased LVAD patients by telephone. They were asked to evaluate their experience with LVADs and were administered a specific questionnaire about their mourning, the Caregiver Mourning Questionnaire (CMQ), to evaluate their perceptions of the physical, emotional, and social support-related problems that they had experienced during the previous 3 months. Positive aspects reported by the caregivers were the patient's overall subjective well-being and increased survival. Negative aspects were the difficulty to manage infections and the driveline, and the incomplete autonomy of the patient. Half of the caregivers reported not being preadvised about many of the problems they would face. The CMQ revealed that numerous caregivers had health problems, difficulty in sleeping, eating disorders, lack of energy, and loneliness. Use of psychotropic drugs and regrets about how they assisted their loved one also emerged. In conclusion, caregivers of LVAD patients may experience complicated mourning. Our data support in particular the need for an early intervention of palliative care which could prevent or reduce complicated mourning.
KW - Caregiver
KW - Left ventricular assist device
KW - Mourning
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84949293840&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84949293840&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1111/aor.12594
DO - 10.1111/aor.12594
M3 - Article
JO - Artificial Organs
JF - Artificial Organs
SN - 0160-564X
ER -