Abstract
Racial minorities are disproportionately affected by heart failure (HF). We aimed
to determine whether (1) older patients (60-80 years) with HF who underwent long-term
mechanical circulatory support (MCS, i.e., destination therapy) compared to patients who
underwent heart transplantation (HT), with (HT MCS) or without (HT Non-MCS) pre-transplant
MCS, experienced non-inferior change in overall health-related quality of life (HRQOL) by race
(White versus racial minorities) from baseline to 1-year post-operatively and (2) race was a risk
factor associated with overall HRQOL at 1-year post-operatively.