Quality of life within 6 months after coronary artery bypass grafting

Objective. To study QoL in CAD patients within 6 months after coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG) and to analyze factors associated with its changes. Material and methods. A single-center observational prospective study included adult CAD patients who admitted for elective CABG. All patients filled out QoL SF-36 questionnaire and disease-specific questionnaire SAQ before surgery, 3 and 6 months later. Treatment satisfaction was assessed in 3 and 6 months after surgery. To study the factors associated with QoL changes after surgery, we analyzed socio-demographic and clinical variables. Statistical analysis included t-test and Wilcoxon test. Results. The study included 177 CAD patients (median age 66 years, males — 71.2%). Significant QoL improvement in all scales of SF-36 (p=0.037 for GH, p<0.001 for other scales) and SAQ (p<0.001) was revealed after 3 months with further stabilization or improvement after 6 months. We revealed features of changes in different aspects of QoL after CABG depending on age, gender, place of residence, duration of disease, preoperative B-natriuretic peptide and left ventricular ejection fraction after surgery. The majority of CAD patients were satisfied with postoperative results (98%). Conclusion. The factors associated with positive QoL changes in CAD patients after CABG were determined. These results can be used for development of evidence-based programs for cardiac rehabilitation after CABG to improve treatment effectiveness.