Caregiver burden and health-related quality of life amongst caregivers of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest survivors

Aims: To describe burden and health-related quality of life amongst caregivers of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest survivors and explore the potential association with cognitive function of the survivors. Caregivers of patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction were used as controls.

Methods: Data were collected from the cognitive substudy of the Targeted Temperature Management-trial. Caregiver burden was assessed with the 22-item Zarit Burden Interview, with scores ≤20 considered as no burden. Health-related quality of life was assessed with the SF-36v2®, with T-scores 47-53 representing the norm. Cardiac arrest survivors were categorized based on the results from cognitive assessments as having "no cognitive impairment" or "cognitive impairment".

Results: Follow-up 6 months post event was performed for caregivers of 272 cardiac arrest survivors and 108 matched myocardial infarction controls, included at an intended ratio of 2:1. In general, caregivers of cardiac arrest survivors and controls reported similar caregiver burden. The overall scores for quality of life were within normative levels and similar for caregivers of cardiac arrest survivors and control patients. Compared to those with no cognitive impairment, caregivers of cognitively impaired cardiac arrest survivors (n = 126) reported higher levels of burden (median 18 versus 8, p < 0.001) and worse quality of life in five of eight domains, particularly "Role-Emotional" (mean 45.7 versus 49.5, p = 0.002).

Conclusions: In general, caregivers of cardiac arrest survivors and myocardial infarction controls reported similar levels of burden and quality of life. Cognitive outcome and functional dependency of the cardiac arrest survivor impact burden and quality of life of the caregiver.