Quality of Life after Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting

Introduction: Quality of life (QoL) is recognized as an outcome indicator of medical and nursing interventions with an important role in monitoring disease progression. With the increase in patients undergoing heart surgery, particularly coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), the level of QoL of these patients after surgery has become an important issue. Aim: This literature review evaluates the QoL of patients who underwent CABG. Method: A literature search was conducted in the medical databases PubMed, Medline and Scopus, using the terms “ischaemic heart disease”, “quality of life”, “coronary artery bypass graft surgery”, alone or in combination. The search included studies from 1995 until the present. Results: Comparing the QoL of patients before and after surgery, a clear improvement is recorded in the parameters of physical health, including physical symptoms, and in the perception of general health after surgery, and this improvement is maintained over time. There was documentation of similar improvement with respect to the functional status. These results were confirmed over a time range of up to 5 years after surgery. The mental health of patients also appears to be improved after surgery, with positive behavioural changes such as reduction in smoking, alcohol consumption and sedentary lifestyle. With respect to the psychological aspects of QoL, the degree of improvement appears to depend more on the patient’s personality and on comorbidities, but in general psychosocial functioning improves after surgery. In summary, it appears that the QoL of patients is improved post-CABG, which determines their final outcome in a positive way. Conclusions: A clear improvement in physical function and symptoms after CABG leading to better functional status, in combination with improved psychosocial functioning and mental health, contributes to better perception of health and enhanced QoL in patients post-operatively. The factors that influence QoL must be taken into consideration in the rehabilitation of patients undergoing CABG.