Treatment of depression and inadequate self-care in patients with heart failure: One-year outcomes of a randomized controlled trial

Objective: Both depression and inadequate self-care are common in patients with heart failure. This secondary analysis examines the one-year outcomes of a randomized controlled trial of a sequential approach to treating these problems. Methods: Patients with heart failure and major depression were randomly assigned to usual care (n = 70) or to cognitive behavior therapy (n = 69). All patients received a heart failure self-care intervention starting 8 weeks after randomization. Patient-reported outcomes were assessed at Weeks 8, 16, 32, and 52. Data on hospital admissions and deaths were also obtained. Results: One year after randomization, Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) scores were − 4.9 (95% C.I., −8.9 to −0.9; p <.05) points lower in the cognitive therapy than the usual care arm, and Kansas City Cardiomyopathy scores were 8.3 (95% C.I., 1.9 to 14.7; p <.05) points higher. There were no differences on the Self-Care of Heart Failure Index or in hospitalizations or deaths. Conclusions: The superiority of cognitive behavior therapy relative to usual care for major depression in patients with heart failure persisted for at least one year. Cognitive behavior therapy did not increase patients' ability to benefit from a heart failure self-care intervention, but it did improve HF-related quality of life during the follow-up period. Trial Registration:ClinicalTrials.gov