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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Psychiatry
Sec. Psychological Therapy and Psychosomatics
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1484428
This article is part of the Research Topic Association of Cardiovascular Diseases with Neuropsychiatric Symptoms View all articles

The experience of bodily image for patients with left ventricular assist device

Provisionally accepted
Irena Milaniak Irena Milaniak 1*Emilia Witkowska Emilia Witkowska 2Marta Cebula Marta Cebula 1Paulina Tomsia Paulina Tomsia 2Grzegorz Wasilewski Grzegorz Wasilewski 2Izabela Górkiewicz-Kot Izabela Górkiewicz-Kot 2Sylwia Wiśniowska-Śmiałek Sylwia Wiśniowska-Śmiałek 2Michał Kaleta Michał Kaleta 2Karol Wierzbicki Karol Wierzbicki 2
  • 1 Faculty of Health Sciences, Andrzej Frycz Modrzewski Krakow University, Krakow, Poland
  • 2 John Paul II Hospital, Krakow, Poland

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Mechanical Cardiac Support and Left Ventricular Assist Devices (LVAD) have been demonstrated to prolong Heart Failure patients' survival and improve their quality of life. LVAD implantation has a considerable effect on patients' body image. Patients find it hard to accept the device as an extension of their body, especially the driveline. The study aimed to examine the relationships between anxiety and depressive symptoms, acceptance of illness, beliefs about pain control, and quality of life with body image among LVAD-implanted patients. Material and methods. The cross-sectional study included 54 conveniently recruited patients who completed the Body Image Scale, SF-12, Acceptance of Illness Scale, Beliefs about Pain Control Questionnaire, NRS, HADS, and demographic and clinical data. Multiple regression analyses examined the associations between the research variable Results. The mean Age of the participants was 59.64 (SD=9.63), and 96.3% were men. The mean scores were: Body Image Scale -28.33 (SD=5,91); Acceptance of Illness Scale -25.51 (SD=5.92); beliefs about pain control: internal factors -15.85 (SD=4.96), the influence of physicians -17.57 (SD=3.15), random events -14.37(SD=3.32), NRS=2.80(SD=1.86), HADS anxiety -5.33 (SD=4.12), HADS depression -4.66 (SD=3.10), SF12MCS-45.49 (SD=6.48), SF-12PCS-41,33 (SD=6.48). The presence of anxiety and depressive symptoms and complications after LVAD significantly predicted low body image concerns. Conclusions. Healthcare professionals should be aware of challenges regarding body image faced by LVAD-implanted patients and address related factors, especially anxiety and depression

    Keywords: Left ventricular assistance device, body image, Patient, Anxiety, depresion

    Received: 21 Aug 2024; Accepted: 30 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Milaniak, Witkowska, Cebula, Tomsia, Wasilewski, Górkiewicz-Kot, Wiśniowska-Śmiałek, Kaleta and Wierzbicki. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Irena Milaniak, Faculty of Health Sciences, Andrzej Frycz Modrzewski Krakow University, Krakow, 30-705, Poland

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