Abstract

Introduction: Psychological resilience is the ability to adapt to significant adversity. Higher resilience has been associated with better quality of life in HF, but its association with outcomes is not known. Herein, we characterize resilience and its association with outcomes in HF. Research Questions/Hypothesis: Greater resilience is associated with better health status and outcomes in high-risk HF. Methods: In a prospective study, adult residents of 11 counties in Southeastern Minnesota with HF who had been hospitalized with decompensated HF or ventricular arrhythmia (“high-risk HF”) in the preceding 1 year were mailed a survey that included questionnaires to assess resilience (Connor Davidson resilience scale, CD-RISC2), health status (KCCQ-12), and other psychosocial constructs in March 2022. Patients were divided into tertiles by resilience scores, and association with outcomes (survival and hospitalization) were examined using Cox proportional hazard regression and Andersen-Gill models, respectively. Results: Among 649 respondents (mean age 76 ± 11.5 years, 40% women, 64.3% HFpEF), patients with greater resilience were older ( p=0.015 ), had lower BMI ( p=0.003 ) and were more often retired or employed (vs disabled or unemployed, p<0.001 ). Greater resilience was moderately correlated with better health status (r=0.33), social support (r=0.27), and health literacy (r=-0.30); and lower treatment burden (r=-0.42), symptom burden (r=-0.41), and fewer depressive symptoms (r=-0.41) ( p<0.001 for all ). At 1-year follow up, patients with the lowest resilience (lowest tertile) were at a significantly increased risk for HF hospitalizations (adjusted HR 2.09, 95% CI 1.06-4.11) and CV mortality (adjusted HR 1.90, 95% CI 1.01-2.57) compared to those with highest resilience. There was no statistically significant association of resilience with risks of all-cause mortality or all-cause hospitalizations after adjustment ( Figures 1A-D ). Conclusion: Higher resilience is associated with better health status and psychosocial profile. Patients with low resilience are at increased risk for HF hospitalizations and CV mortality. Impact of resilience on long term outcomes and response to interventions must be tested in future studies.