Health-related quality of life measurement in patients admitted with coronary heart disease and heart failure to a cardiology department of a secondary urban hospital in Greece.

INTRODUCTION

The aim of this study was to measure the quality of life in patients with coronary heart disease and heart failure, who make up the majority of admissions to an acute hospital cardiology unit.

METHODS

The study was undertaken in the General Hospital of Agios Nikolaos, Crete, and recruited 153 patients. The SF-36 and EQ-5D questionnaires were administered to evaluate health-related quality of life at hospital admission, discharge and one month after the discharge date.

RESULTS

The analysis indicates that the quality of life of coronary disease patients is quite low and improved very marginally between admission and one month post discharge. The same applies for heart failure patients, who are associated with even lower quality of life scores.

CONCLUSION

As illness affects all aspects of life, such as physical functioning, emotional balance, social role and general wellbeing, measurement of quality of life is considered to be an important factor in the assessment of the objective and subjective status of the individual's health. It appears in this context that patients with cardiac conditions suffer a significant deterioration in their quality of life status.