Improvement in quality of life during 5 years after coronary artery bypass grafting.

OBJECTIVE

To describe the changes in various aspects of quality of life (QOL) from before coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) to 5 years after the procedure.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Patients who underwent CABG in the western region of Sweden in 1988-1991 were approached with questionnaires evaluating their QOL prior to and 3 months and 1, 2, and 5 years after the operation. Three different instruments were used: the Nottingham Health Profile, the Psychological General Well-Being Index, and the Physical Activity Score.

RESULTS

In all 2121 patients underwent CABG, of whom 310 died during 5 years of follow-up. With all three instruments QOL had improved 5 years after CABG compared with prior to the operation. However, all three instruments revealed a slight but significant deterioration in estimated QOL between 2 and 5 years after CABG.

CONCLUSIONS

QOL 5 years after CABG is better than that prior to the operation, but between 2 and 5 years after the operation a slight deterioration in QOL is observed.