Functional Capacity as a Correlate of Health-Related Quality of Life in Patients With Heart Failure: A Cross-Sectional Study.

This study aimed to analyze the associations among functional capacity, self-care, and health-related quality of life in patients with heart failure (HF). A cross-sectional correlational study was conducted. Functional capacity was measured with the Duke Activity Status Index, self-care with the European Heart Failure Self-Care Behaviour Scale, and health-related quality of life with the Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire. Data were analyzed using Spearman's correlation and simple linear regression analyses. Ninety-six patients with HF participated. The median functional capacity was 18.90 (IQR: 9.95-32.30), the mean self-care score was 29.60 (SD = 5.68), and the median quality of life was 51.50 (IQR: 40.00-66.00). Functional capacity was strongly and inversely correlated with health-related quality of life (ρ = -0.700, p < 0.001) and accounted for 40.0% of the variance in health-related quality of life scores. In this sample of outpatients with HF, better functional capacity was associated with better health-related quality of life.