• Rachel S Tobin, Marc D Samsky, Maragatha Kuchibhatla, Christopher M O'Connor, Mona Fiuzat, Haider J Warraich, Kevin J Anstrom, Bradi B Granger, Daniel B Mark, James A Tulsky, Joseph G Rogers, Robert J Mentz, and Kimberly S Johnson.
• Department of Medicine, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina, USA.
• J Palliat Med. 2022 Feb 1; 25 (2): 296300296-300.

AbstractIntroduction: Black patients have a higher incidence of heart failure (HF) and worse outcomes than white patients. Guidelines recommend palliative care for patients with advanced HF, but no studies have examined outcomes in a black patient cohort. Methods: This is a post hoc analysis of the Palliative Care in Heart Failure trial, which randomized patients to usual care plus a palliative care intervention (UC+PAL) or usual care (UC). Quality of life (QoL) was measured using Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire (KCCQ) and Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Palliative Care scale (FACIT-Pal). Results: Black patients represented 41% of the 148 patients. At six months, QoL improved more in UC+PAL than UC for both racial subgroups. The difference was greater for black than white patients (difference: KCCQ 10.8 vs. 2.5; FACIT-Pal: 14.8 vs. 3.9). However, the findings were not statistically significant. Conclusions: Larger studies are needed to assess the benefits of palliative care for black patients with HF. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01589601.

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