title: Impact of first myocardial infarction on self-perceived health status.
abstract: Despite recent advances in the acute management of myocardial infarction (MI), few studies have evaluated self-perceived quality of life in the longer term after MI. We mailed a questionnaire incorporating the short form 12 (SF-12) and seeking information on symptoms, drug therapy, recent investigations and employment status, to 149 patients who had a first MI 2 years previously. The response rate was 82%. Mean physical and mental summary scores were significantly lower in patients than "normative" controls (physical summary score: 37.0+/-11.5 vs. 50.9+/-9.4; p<0.001 and mental summary score: 46.2+/-12.8 vs. 52.1+/-8.7; p<0.001, respectively). Physical and mental summary scores were closely associated with continuing chest pain at 2 years, level of limitation on daily activities and employment status. We found the SF-12 to be a useful tool for monitoring health status and believe it could be used to evaluate the impact of interventions on quality of life after acute MI. Self-perceived health status 2 years after a first MI remains poor despite advances in management.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Sunderland Royal Hospitals, Sunderland, UK. jcrilley@bioch.ox.ac.uk
authors.forename: J G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Crilley
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Farrer
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000368:Aged; D002637:Chest Pain; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D004651:Employment; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000523:psychology*; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012649:Self Concept; D012907:Smoking; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires