Status and Issues of Fatigue in Heart Failure Patients: A Narrative Review

Purpose: This review was performed to investigate the state of fatigue in patients with heart failure. Methods: A literature search of ICHUSHI, PubMed, PsycINFO, and CINAHL was conducted to identify articles published from database inception to March 2018. In total, one hundred and nineteen papers were included in the present review. Results: Two Japanese-language papers and one hundred and seventeen English-language papers were analyzed. None of the papers contained definitions of fatigue specific to patients with heart failure. The prevalence of fatigue was 50% to 94% according to a scale that measured not only fatigue but also quality of life. The reports indicated that severe heart failure, low exercise capacity, symptoms of depression, older age, and female sex are related to the severity of fatigue and that the severity of fatigue influences the prognosis. Conclusions: The results of our review revealed a lack of evidence for measurement of fatigue specific to patients with heart failure. Further studies are needed to establish a method by which to adequately evaluate fatigue in patients with heart failure.