Quality of life in patients with chronic heart failure.

Quality of life as an outcome of medical treatment and nursing care is important and has received more attention by researchers during the last decade. Patients with heart failure generally describe a perceived poor quality of life, while advanced heart failure patients report improved quality of life after transplantation. Findings on quality of life after implantation of mechanical assist devices to treat heart failure are very limited. The refinement of a definition of quality of life and improved methods to study quality of life will contribute to a better understanding of this complex concept in heart failure patients.