Improvements in health-related quality of life before and after isolated cardiac operations

Background: Our study compared health-related quality of life (HRQOL) among cardiac surgical patient groups before and after cardiac operations for isolated surgical procedures and examined cardiac surgical patient HRQOL within the context of United States population norms. Methods Of 2524 patients undergoing cardiac operations, 370 underwent isolated procedures (coronary artery bypass grafting, 136; aortic valve repair or replacement, 96; mitral valve repair or replacement, 92; Maze procedures, 46) between April 18, 2004, and June 30, 2008. They completed Short Form 36 questionnaires at baseline, at 3, 6, and 12 months postoperatively, and annually thereafter. Statistical analyses included χ², analysis of variance, longitudinal modeling, and longitudinal multivariable analyses. Results Overall, the 370 cardiac surgical patients were 61.5 ± 11.9 years old, 70% men, and 76% white. Significant baseline differences in HRQOL existed among the cardiac surgical groups. Physical and mental components of the Short Form 36 improved from baseline to within 3 to 6 months postoperatively and remained stable through 3 years for all groups. When demographic and clinical covariates were held constant, the effect of cardiac surgical type on postsurgical HRQOL changes was not significant. Conclusions HRQOL improves early after cardiac operations and remains relatively constant long-term, independently of procedure type.