Psychological assessment of patients on the heart transplant waiting list: A single center experience

Objective: To analyze the data of the psychological assessment, focusing attention on the quality of life and the psychological status of patients who are listed for heart transplant. Methods: All heart failure patients listed for heart transplant at the Cardiac Surgery Unit of Bari University, Italy, were evaluated from September to November 2023, by administering the Symptom Checklist-90-R (SCL-90-R) and the Short Form Health Survey 36 (SF-36). Results: Overall, 27 patients were studied. Mean age was 60 years, 88% were males. One third of the patients showed a clinically significant overall mental distress. The symptoms leading to domains such as somatization (55.55%), anxiety (40.74%) and depression (33.33%) were frequently observed. The majority of the population studied (96.30%) showed low levels of perceived physical health status, while 59,62% of them presented levels of perceived physical health status below normal ranges. Conclusions: Heart transplant candidates show elements of overall mental distress and low quality of life related to physical health status.