Association of the quality of life parameters with the indicators of chronic heart failure severity in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

Background: The quality of life of patients is one of determining factors in assessing the effectiveness of treatment and prognosis. A search for possible associations of the quality of life parameters with basic clinical indicators provides a possibility of a more detailed and comprehensive assessment of the patient’s condition, correction of therapy and an improvement in the prognosis. Aim: To carry out a comparative analysis of the quality of life parameters in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) with preserved and moderately reduced left ventricular ejection fraction against the background of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and without RA, as well as to identify possible associations of the quality of life indicators with the parameters of the CHF course. Methods: 134 CHF patients with an RA diagnosis were examined, as well as 122 CHF patients without RA. The functional class of CHF in patients participated in the study was I -II by NYHA. The diagnosis of RA was made on the basis of radiological and serological studies. The radiological stage of RA in patients included in the study was I -III, according to Steinbrocker. Methotrexate was the basic anti-inflammatory drug for the RA treatment. A comparative analysis of the CHF symptoms, morphofunctional parameters and their possible association with the quality of life indicators in patients with and without RA was performed. The processing was carried out using the Statistica 10.0 program. Results: In the group of patients with CHF and RA, in addition to the statistically significant differences in the standard clinical laboratory parameters, statistically significant differences were also revealed in the severity of pain syndrome, deterioration of role, physical and emotional functioning as compared to the CHF patients without RA. Besides, in the CHF/RA group, statistically significant associations were revealed between the severity of pain syndrome and the level of the left ventricular ejection fraction and left ventricular mass index. Conclusion: The severity of pain syndrome caused by RA in patients with CHF can negatively affect some morphological and functional parameters of the myocardium, which must be taken into account when managing this group of patients.