THE INFLUENCE OF DEPRESSION ON THE QUALITY OF LIFE OF PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC HEART FAILURE Zoi Aggelopoulou 1, Demos Mastrogiannis 2, Marianna Mantzorou 3, 1. RN, MSc, PhD(c), National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece. 2. RN, MSc, PhD(c), Nursing Department, TEI of Lamia, Athens 3. RN, MSc, Lecturer, Nursing Department B, TEI of Athens T he incidence of Heart Failure is estimated to be cases every 1000 people of the general population and increases with age. It is estimated that in Greece there are about patients with HF and new cases every year. The progressive aging of the population which is being recorded in Greece, is expected to increase significantly the incidence of the disease in the future ¹. Clinical experience has showed that a big percentage of patients suffering from HF develop symptoms of stress and/or depression while there are important changes on the quality of their life and that the incidence of depression in patients with HF is higher compared to other chronic diseases. The objective of this study was to explore, through an international literature review, the influence of depression on the progress of the disease as well as on the quality of life of patients with HF. Through a search of articles derived from MEDLINE, CINAHL και Cochrane library databases, covering the period of the last 3 years, there were studies traced which used tools of assessment of depression in patients with HF such as the Beck Depression Index (BDI), the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, the Zuhg Self–Rating Depression Scale and others. Conclusion: The correlation of HF with the appearance of stress and/or depression as well as the negative effect of the disease on the quality of life of HF patients, may trigger the use of new therapeutic interventions which will lead to a better and more complete treatment of these patients. Nurses, who have the privilege of a close contact with the patient, may diagnose early the symptoms of stress and depression and intervene as members of an interdisciplinary team so as to encounter them. Moreover, through a holistic approach of the patient and through covering both the physical as well as the psychosocial needs of the patients, the nurses can contribute to an improvement of the quality of life.  Wei Jiang et al They used the measurement scale STAI for measuring stress and the scale BDI for measuring depression in a study of 291 patients with heart failure for a period of one year. The conclusion was that stress and depression are closely correlated with the progress of the disease since there is a significant increase of these disorders at the final stage of the disease ².  Koenig. A percentage of 36,5 % of the patients with heart failure who participated in the study (number of sample 542) suffered from depression, which is a much higher percentage compared to other categories of patients with other chronic diseases ³.  Yohannes et al. They studied the development of depression and stress and how these affect the management and the course of the disease of patients with heart failure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Despite all deviations on the results they showed that stress and depression appear in both diseases causing serious clinical complications and increased mortality as well as an increase on care needs. Moreover, both categories of patients, after the development of stress and depression, suffered a decrease on the quality of life⁴.  Pihl et al.. Comparative study regarding the depression and quality of life of patients with HF and their spouses. The researchers found out that despite a difference in the physical condition of the spouses, the mental state and the level of depression were at about the same percentage, in patients and spouses. They also showed that the clinical presentation of depression is more severe according to the progression of the severity of the disease according to the New York Heart Association (NYHA), while in spouses, it increases according to the age⁵.  Hou et al. The used the questionnaire Minnesota (MLHFQ), and observed that patients aged <65 years evaluated their quality of life as poorer compared to those of older age. They also found that women had a burdened emotional state compared to men⁶.  Saccomann et al. In their study, they noted that the total quality of life decreased as the physical dimensions worsened and differed significantly between the stages of the illness (I, II, III and IV according to NYHA) ⁷.  De Jong et al. They noted that the physical and emotional state of the patients affect the clinical picture and the quality of life since while the heart failure progresses, stress and depression increase equally, having a negative effect on the quality of life ⁸. Results Introduction Objective Material and Methodology Βιβλιογραφία: 1.Trikas A. Heart Failure in Stefanadis (ed) Heart diseases Volume II, Pashalidis editions, Athens Jiang W, Kuchibhatla M, Cuffe MS, Christofer EJ, Alexander JD, Clary Gl, et al. Prognostic value of anxiety and depression in patients with chronic heart failure. Circulation. 2004; 110: 3452–3456, 3.Koenig HG, Depression in hospitalized older patients with congestive heart failure. A review of Duke University medical Center, Durtham NC, USA, Yohannes AM, Willgoss TG, Baldwin RC, Connolly MJ.. Depression and anxiety in chronic heart failure objective pulmonary disease: Prevalence, relevance, clinical implications and management principles. Ger Psychiatry, 2008; 234: Phil E, Jacobsson A, Fridlund A, Stromberg A, Martensson J. Depression and health-related quality of life in elderly patients suffering from heart failure and their spouses: a comparative study. European journal of heart failure, 2004:7: Hou N, Chui MA, Eckert GJ, Oldridge NB, Murray MD, Bennett SJ. Relationship of age and sex to health-related quality of life in patients with heart failure. Am J Crit Care.2004;13: Saccomann IC, Cintra FA, Gallani MC Psychometric properties of the Minessota Living Hear Failure in the Qualt Life Res 2007, 16:997− De Jong M, Moser M, Chung ML. Predictors of health status for heart failure patients. Prog Cardiovasc Nurs. 2005; 20: