Table 3 Effect of a nurse‐and‐physician‐directed heart failure clinic on left ventricular ejection fraction, New York Heart Association class, N‐terminal prohormone‐ pro‐brain natriuretic peptide, quality of life and self‐care behaviour.
| Variable | Intervention group n = 118 | Control group n = 122 | p Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| LVEF (with the worst rank) | |||
| At baseline | 30.6% | 31.3% | 0.554 |
| At 3 months | 30.6% | 30.0% | 0.220 |
| At 12 months | 33.2% | 28.2% | 0.004 |
| NYHA classification (with the worst rank) | |||
| NYHA III; IV at baseline | 98%; 2% | 95%; 5% | 0.387 |
| NYHA I; II; III; IV at 3 months | 3.4%; 43.6%; 42.7%; 10.3% | 0.9%; 12.8%; 73.5%; 12.8% | <0.001 |
| NYHA I; II; III; IV at 12 months | 10.2%; 50%; 22.9%; 16.9% | 0%; 18.9%; 54.1%; 27% | <0.001 |
| NT‐proBNP (pmol/l)(pg/ml)*† (with the worst rank) | |||
| At baseline | 244/2064 (IQR 101–540) | 262/2216 (IQR 123–520) | 0.677 |
| At 3 months | 198/1666 (IQR 86–643) | 226/1911 (IQR 100–599) | 0.397 |
| At 12 months | 182/1539 (IQR 68–802) | 277/2343 (IQR 96–2242) | 0.089 |
| Rand SF36 | |||
| Total score at baseline | 45.12 | 46.77 | 0.506 |
| Total score at 3 months | 49.63 | 46.41 | 0.131 |
| Total score at 12 months | 49.23 | 41.92 | 0.021 |
| Minnesota Living With Heart Failure questionnaire | |||
| Total score at baseline | 42.5 | 42.6 | 0.958 |
| Total score at 3 months | 28.8 | 36.3 | 0.001 |
| Total score at 12 months | 30.2 | 34.5 | 0.038 |
| European Heart Failure Self‐Care Behaviour Scale | |||
| Total score at baseline | 23.6 | 25.5 | 0.092 |
| Total score at 3 months | 20.8 | 26.3 | <0.001 |
| Total score at 12 months | 23.8 | 30.2 | <0.001 |
| Creatinine levels (μmol/l) | |||
| At baseline | 123 | 130 | 0.144 |
| At 3 months | 124 | 132 | 0.08 |
| At 12 months | 121 | 138 | 0.002 |
LVEF, left ventricular ejection fraction; NYHA, New York Heart Association; NT‐proBNP, N‐terminal prohormone brain natriuretic peptide; SF36, Short Form 36.
*Values are medians.
†To convert from pmol/l to pg/ml multiply by 8.457.