Zambroski, Moser, Bhat, and Ziegler (2005) researched
the importance of symptom prevalence and how it impacted
heart failure patients’ overall quality of life. This
was a descriptive, cross-sectional design study that consisted
of 53 heart failure patients who answered questions
related to their heart failure symptoms. The authors’ goals
were threefold: (a) they wanted to determine the severity
and burden of heart failure symptoms, (b) how these
symptoms were related to age and gender, and then (c)
determine the impact of all of these factors on quality of
life. The researchers found that heart failure patients with
increased levels of symptoms and symptom burden, those
with less functional ability, and those of younger age
were all at risk for decreased quality of life. These significant
findings support the requirement for NPs to address
individual needs and intervene early to help heart failure
patients avoid any unnecessary limitations in healthrelated
quality of life.