OBJECTIVES: Health-related Quality of Life (HRQoL) instruments for cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) have been commonly used to measure important patient-reported outcomes in clinical trials and practices. This study aimed at systematically identifying and evaluating the psychometric properties of CVD-specific HRQoL instruments.

METHODS: CINAHL, Embase, and PubMed were systematically searched from inception to January 20, 2022. Studies that reported psychometric properties, including reliability, validity and responsiveness, for CVD-specific instruments were included. Two reviewers independently assessed the methodological quality using the Consensus-based Standards for the Selection of Health Measurement Instruments (COSMIN) methods on evaluating measurement properties and quality of evidence.

RESULTS: 142 studies reporting psychometric properties of 40 instruments were identified. 5 (12.5%) instruments demonstrated optimal measurement properties with “sufficient” or “inconsistent” ratings across all 8 properties. Only 2 (5.0%) instruments were supported by moderate or high quality of evidence consistently across remaining properties. In addition, we found 5 (12.5%) instruments can be optimally used in heart failure, 4 (10.0%) in coronary artery disease (CAD), 1 (2.5%) in atrial fibrillation and 2 (5.0%) in cardiac surgeries.

CONCLUSIONS: Of 40 intrsuments validated in CVDs, only a small minority had psychometric properties rated as sufficient by COSMIN. Given the use of HRQoL instruments to guide clinical studies of drugs and devices in CVDs, there is a need for better adherence to quality standards in instruments validation.