Effects and consequences of caring for persons with heart failure: (ECCUPENIC study) a nested case-control study.

Aim: Primary: To report a research protocol to analyse the relationship between the degree of heart failure and the health-related quality of life of patients and their family caregivers. Secondary: To identify the characteristics of heart failure patients and their caregivers and the association between these characteristics and hospital admissions. Moreover, to conduct a longitudinal analysis of the relationship between patients' and that of their family caregivers.