Quality of life and adolescents with heart disease: an integrative review of literature

This literature review was aimed at investigating the quality of life (QoL) of adolescents with cardiomyopathy and its associated factors. Pubmed, Scielo, Lilacs and Cochrane databases were consulted in the period between 2010 and 2019, in the languages English, Portuguese and Spanish in the original article format. After analysis, 18 articles were selected. The physical limitation was one of the dimensions identified in terms of changes in QoL of these adolescents, leading to their exclusion from physical activities which require social interaction. School performance was also compromised due to hospitalisations, medical appointments and fatigue as a result of the disease. Some studies showed higher levels of depression, loneliness, stress and low self-esteem in adolescents with heart disease when compared to a healthy group. The social support, the feeling of coherence and the level of knowledge of the pathology demonstrated to be a protection factor, improving the quality of life. The results of this review showed that adolescents with cardiomyopathy present a worse life quality when compared with adolescents without cardiomyopathy.