Female patients with ischemic heart disease experienced poorer quality of life than males, and across all dimensions, 19-45% of patients experienced a decrease in quality of life over one year.
Observational (n=464)
Does quality of life differ between male and female patients, and compared to normal controls, after a major cardiac event?
Female patients experience significantly poorer somatic and psychological quality of life compared to male patients up to one year after a major cardiac event, highlighting the need for sex-specific secondary prevention strategies.
A study was conducted in Sweden in 1989-1992 to evaluate differences in quality of life (QL) in consecutive male and female patients after acute myocardial infarction (AMI), coronary artery by-pass grafting (CABG) and percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA). Somatic and psychological dimensions of QL were assessed by self-administered questionnaire in patients one month (n = 376) and one year (n = 349) after the cardiac event. Normal controls (n = 88) were used for comparison. Differences between gender groups, as well as between study patients and controls in somatic and psychological dimensions of QL were studied. Patients were shown to experience poorer QL when compared with demographically similar controls, especially at the one-month assessment. Female patients had poorer QL after one month (in general health, feeling of arrythmia, anxiety, depression, self-esteem, experience of sex life) and after one year (general health, anxiety, depression) compared with male patients. In all dimensions of QL a proportion of patients (19-45%) experienced a decrease in QL from the one-month to the one-year assessment occasion. Healthcare workers concerned with secondary prevention must be aware that QL differs between male and female patients in several dimensions after a cardiac event. These findings should be taken into account in the clinical management of patients, particularly for female patients who may need special attention.
R. Carlsson L. Westin (Fri,) conducted a observational in Ischemic heart disease (n=464). Female sex vs. Male sex was evaluated on Quality of life (somatic and psychological dimensions). Female patients with ischemic heart disease experienced poorer quality of life than males, and across all dimensions, 19-45% of patients experienced a decrease in quality of life over one year.