Impact of a history of hypertension on symptoms and quality of life prior to and at five years after coronary artery bypass grafting.
OBJECTIVE
To describe symptoms and other aspects of health-related quality of life (QoL) prior to and 5 years after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) in relation to a history of hypertension.


METHODS
Patients who underwent CABG in western Sweden were approached prior to surgery and 5 years after the operation. Health-related QoL was estimated with the Physical Activity Score, the Nottingham Health Profile and the Psychological General Well-Being Index.


RESULTS
In patients with a history of hypertension (n = 740) the 5-year mortality was 16.9% versus 12.4% among patients with no history (n = 1257; p = 0.004). Of 1717 patients available for the survey, 876 (51%) responded both prior to and 5 years after CABG. Of these, 36% had a history of hypertension. Compared with the situation prior to surgery there was an improvement in both hypertensive and non-hypertensive patients in terms of physical activity, symptoms of dyspnea and chest pain and other estimates of health-related QoL. However, physical activity and dyspnea improved less in hypertensive than in non-hypertensive patients.


CONCLUSIONS
Five years after CABG, a marked and significant improvement in terms of symptoms and other aspects of health-related QoL was observed among both hypertensive and non-hypertensive patients. However, improvement in physical activity was less marked in patients with a history of hypertension. Overall, a history of hypertension seemed to have a minor impact on improved well-being 5 years after coronary surgery. However, because of the limited response rate the results may not be applicable in a non-selected CABG population.
Herlitz
J
J
Division of Cardiology, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Göteborg, Sweden. johan.herlitz@hjl.gu.se
Caidahl
K
K
Wiklund
I
I
Sjöland
H
H
Karlson
B W
BW
Karlsson
T
T
Haglid
M
M
Hartford
M
M
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D002637:Chest Pain / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D001026:Coronary Artery Bypass; D004417:Dyspnea / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology*; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008499:Medical Records; D010809:Physical Fitness; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D011184:Postoperative Period; D011788:Quality of Life; D012016:Reference Values