Tag Archives: qualitative research

Introduction Clinical trials for new heart failure treatments have traditionally focused on mortality and hospitalisations as primary end points.1,2 Although clearly important, these end points tell us little about how heart failure (HF) patients experience their illness and treatment in their day-to-day life. HF may affect patients’ quality of life more than many other chronic diseases, including diabetes and arthritis.3,4 Symptoms and quality of life, as reported by patients, are correlated with mortality and hospitalisations,5-7 suggesting that these concepts may be indicative of an underlying process that ultimately manifests in death a