Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia in Stable Heart Failure

Insomnia is common in adults with chronic heart failure (HF), a condition associated with functional performance deficits, symptom burden, and high levels of morbidity and mortality. To date there has been little study of strategies to improve sleep in this large population. Cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) is an effective treatment for insomnia comorbid with several medical and psychiatric disorders, but has not been tested in HF. The purpose of this exploratory developmental research is to test the feasibility, acceptability, and size of the effects of CBT-I on subjective and objective characteristics of sleep and insomnia symptoms and functional performance in patients with stable HF. Forty patients with stable HF will be randomized to 7 weeks of CBT-I or 7-weeks of HF self-management education with sleep hygiene (attention control). Subjective (diaries, questionnaires) and objective (wrist actigraphy) characteristics of sleep; symptoms, and self-reported functional performance will be measured pre- and post-intervention. The investigators will also obtain day and night measures of urinary free cortisol, free epinephrine/norepinephrine, and melatonin sulfate. They will: 1) refine the protocol, procedures, patient materials, and training manual for the CBT-I intervention and a group HF self-management class (attention-control); 2) evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of the CBT-I intervention and the attention-control conditions; 3) evaluate the size of the effects of group CBT-I, compared with attention-control, on objective (actigraph) and subjective (questionnaire and sleep diary) sleep characteristics, self-report of insomnia symptoms, and beliefs and attitudes about sleep; and 4) evaluate the size of the effects of CBT-I, compared with attention-control, on daytime symptoms (fatigue, depression, anxiety, excessive daytime sleepiness) and functional performance. The primary outcome will be self-reported sleep continuity (sleep efficiency). Investigators will also explore the effects of changes in characteristics of sleep and insomnia symptoms on symptoms and daytime function; the effects of CBT-I, compared with attention control, on nocturnal symptoms, and the effects of CBT-I, compared with attention control, on biological indicators of nocturnal and daytime Hypothalamic Adrenal Pituitary axis (urinary free cortisol), sympathetic nervous system (urinary epinephrine/norepinephrine, and pineal (urinary melatonin) function. The results will be used to support design decisions for a future larger scale efficacy study and may ultimately lead to translation of CBT-I into the care of patients with HF.