Quality of life assessment

Summary

Treatment options for patients with coronary artery disease have expanded considerably over recent decades. In addition to optimal medical treatment, mechanical revascularisation with bypass surgery or percutaneous intervention can be offered to relieve symptoms of (severe) ischaemia and improve quality of life (QoL). QoL has gained increased recognition as an important outcome measure in patients with cardiovascular disease, and may serve to bridge the gap between research and clinical practice. Patient-rated QoL predicts mortality and hospitalisations independent of traditional biomedical risk factors, and as such may help identify patients at high risk for adverse clinical events who may require more aggressive treatment. QoL measures may aid in both optimising clinical decision making and patient care, as well as enhancing patient-physician communication.

Introduction

Treatment options for patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) have expanded considerably over the last three decades. In addition to optimal medical treatment, mechanical revascularisation with coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) and percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) can be offered to relieve symptoms of (severe) ischaemia, improve quality of life (QoL), and enhance survival in subsets of patients 1, 21. Fox K, Garcia MA, Ardissino D, Buszman P, Camici PG, Crea F, Daly C, De...