Health status of survivors of cardiac arrest and of myocardial infarction controls.

We interviewed 308 survivors of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest and matched controls who had suffered a myocardial infarction. The Sickness Impact Profile (SIP) scores of controls were somewhat lower (better) than those of cases, but responses of cases and controls to additional questions about stair climbing, irritability and mood were virtually identical. Half as many (18 per cent) controls as cases (38 per cent) reported poorer memory function; nevertheless, 63 per cent of cases and 79 per cent of controls who had been working outside the home at the time of the event were employed at the time of the interview.