Impairment of cognitive functions in congestive cardiac failure patients

BACKGROUND: Congestive cardiac failure (CCF) patients show several neuropsychological impairments and reduced quality of life and impairment of functioning. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to recognize the deficits in cognition in CCF patients and comparing this cognitive function in the same number of healthy participants. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A case–control study design was adopted. The study was conducted in the cardiology department of a tertiary care hospital. Convenience sampling was done. Twenty-one participants with CCF (New York Cardiac Association – Class III severity) and 21 healthy participants participated in the study. Each participant in the control group was screened by the General Health Questionnaire-12-item version. We evaluated both groups for the various domains of their cognitive function using a comprehensive battery of neuropsychological tests. Student's t-test was used to analyze the difference between the means for the study variables. RESULTS: We observed that attention, executive function, working memory, psychomotor speed, and visuospatial ability were impaired in the patients with CCF compared to the controls. However, they did not differ significantly in language function. CONCLUSIONS: Cognitive functioning is significantly impaired in CCF patients.