People with heart failure who struggle with daily tasks such as washing and dressing, are more likely to be hospitalised and die prematurely, a new study has found.

Heart failure is a potentially life-threatening condition which leads to the heart being unable to pump enough blood around the body. Symptoms include tiredness, shortness of breath, dizziness and swollen ankles and around 10,000 new cases are diagnosed in Ireland every year.

According to the US team that carried out this study, assessing a patient's ability to carry out daily living activities, such as dressing themselves and climbing stairs, could help determine whether these people need more hands-on care.

The study involved over 1,100 heart failure patients with an average age of 75. Most of the participants had other conditions, such as high blood pressure, diabetes and anaemia.

All were divided into three groups depending on how difficult they found daily activities - minimally, moderately or severely difficult.

The researchers found that while most of the participants had problems with at least one daily activity, there was a link between how easily they went about their day and their overall mortality.

For example, the study estimated that around 21% of those with minimal difficulties would die within the next two years. Among those with moderate difficulties, this figure rose to 36% and among those with severe difficulties, it reached 54%.

In other words, over half of those who had severe difficulties with daily living activities were expected to die within two years, compared to just one in five of those with minimal difficulties.

The overall risk of having difficulties with daily activities appeared to be higher among older women, people who were not married and those with obesity, diabetes or anaemia.

According to the study's lead author, Dr Shannon Dunlay, of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, problems with daily living are ‘easy to assess in a routine doctor's visit, and can provide important information to help guide conversations about goals of care'.

"Patients who report difficulties may be candidates for a more thorough assessment and physical therapy evaluation to improve or halt the decline in mobility. Our findings support the assessment of mobility as a part of the routine clinical care of patients with heart failure," she added.

Details of these findings are published in the journal, Circulation: Heart Failure.