Impaired physical quality of life in patients with diastolic dysfunction associates more strongly with neurohumoral activation than with echocardiographic parameters

Background Quality of life (QoL) is impaired in diastolic heart failure. Little is known about QoL in diastolic dysfunction (DD) without heart failure. Methods In the DIAST-CHF observational study, outpatients with risk factors for or a history of heart failure were included. In a cross-sectional analysis, we classified patients with preserved systolic function as having normal diastolic function (N, n = 264) or DD without (DD−, n = 957) or with (DD+, n = 321) elevated filling pressures according to echocardiography. Quality of life was evaluated by the Short Form 36 (SF-36) questionnaire. Results Short Form 36 physical function (SF-36-PF) was worse in DD+ (mean ± SD 67.2 ± 25.6) than in DD− (76.2 ± 22.7, P P Conclusions Physical dimensions of QoL are reduced in DD. Impaired SF-36-PF is only weakly associated with DD per se but rather seems to be contingent on the presence of elevated filling pressures. Biomarkers are more strongly and independently associated with SF-36-PF and may be more adequate surrogate markers of QoL in DD than echocardiographic measurements.