Feasibility and Efficacy of a Self-Management Intervention for Insomnia in Stable Heart Failure

Background: Chronic insomnia is common among patients with heart failure (HF) and may contribute to fatigue and poor function. However, to date there have been no randomized controlled trials focused on treatment of insomnia or daytime symptoms in this population.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to examine the preliminary efficacy, feasibility, and acceptability of a self-management intervention (cognitive behavioral therapy [CBT-I]) for insomnia among patients with stable HF.

Methods: We conducted a pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT) in which patients with stable Class I-III HF (n = 25/52.1% women; mean age = 59 ± 14.8 years) were randomized in groups to CBT-I (n = 29) or an attention control condition (HF self-management with sleep hygiene; n = 19). Participants completed 2 weeks of wrist actigraphy, the insomnia severity index, and measures of fatigue, depression, sleepiness, and functional performance at baseline and follow-up. We computed the size of the effects on the dependent variables and used MANOVA to evaluate the effects of CBT-I on insomnia and fatigue.

Results: CBT-I was feasible and acceptable and had a statistically significant effect on insomnia and fatigue, while controlling for the effects of comorbidity and age.

Conclusions: CBT-I has short-term efficacy as a treatment for chronic insomnia among patients with stable HF. Future studies are needed to address its sustained effects.