Interpersonal Psychotherapy for Depression in Heart Failure

Telehealth Coping Program for People with Heart Failure

University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics is inviting people with congestive heart failure who feel down or depressed because of their condition to participate in a study. Carolyn Turvey, PhD, UI Hospitals and Clinics psychiatrist and principal investigator of the study, defines congestive heart failure as a chronic illness where the heart does not pump enough blood to meet the needs of the body's organs. For example, the brain, the kidney, and the lungs do not receive enough blood.

Turvey says that in the United States, heart failure affects four to five million Americans with approximately half a million new cases each year. "Though it can occur at any age, the prevalence of heart failure increases with age and seven percent of people age 80 or older suffer from heart failure."

Depression occurs in 20 to 25 percent of patients with heart failure. That means about one in five patients with heart failure suffer depression.

"I am looking for adults aged 45 and older who have heart failure and also suffer low mood, irritability, or depression to participate in the study. We are trying to develop a treatment to help people cope better with their heart failure, improve their mood, and live their life to its fullest."

No travel is required for this study. "We will go to people's homes and talk with them about their heart failure and their mood over a 12 to 16 week period. Participants will be asked to fill out questionnaires about their heart failure, their functioning, and their mood.

If you want to learn more about the study, call Turvey at 800-628-8939.

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