Predictors of heart-focused anxiety in patients with stable heart failure

Background: It has been shown that heart-focused anxiety raises the risk of adverse outcomes in patients with heart disease. Yet, there is a lack of studies investigating this association. We aim at identifying predictors of heart-focused anxiety in patients with stable heart failure to facilitate the identification of individuals with increased risk for adverse outcomes. Methods: We assessed heart-focused anxiety and a set of psychological, demographic/lifestyle, and medical/laboratory variables in a sample of 107 patients with stable chronic heart failure to identify predictors of heart focused anxiety. Results: Heart-focused anxiety was best predicted by self-reported anxiety and quality of life. Moreover, the personality dimension conscientiousness as well as physical activity, and the laboratory value of renal function, the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), had predictive validity for heart-focused anxiety. Limitations: The present findings should be replicated in a longitudinal design with a less selective sample including more women and participants with more divers ethnical backgrounds. Conclusion: Heart-focused anxiety is predictable by psychological and lifestyle variables. eGFR, as a laboratory marker for renal function, showed also predictive validity. The awareness of such predictors may help detecting comorbid underlying heart-focused anxiety and thus identify patients with an increased need for psychological care.