title: Assessment of health-related quality of life in a greek symptomatic population with atrial fibrillation: correlation with functional status and echocardiographic indices.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Atrial fibrillation (AF) is known to have an unfavorable impact on quality of life. The purpose of this study was to assess the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in a symptomatic population with AF seeking medical advice in a tertiary hospital, as well as to explore the relationship between HRQOL, functional status, and echocardiographic indices of left ventricular (LV) systolic and diastolic function.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study sample consisted of 108 symptomatic patients suffering from AF who presented in the emergency department or were admitted to the cardiology department in an urban Greek tertiary hospital between January 1 and May 31, 2012. HRQOL was assessed using the SF-36 and EQ-5D instruments.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the study sample, AF was newly diagnosed in 16.5% of the patients, paroxysmal/persistent in 43.6% and permanent in 39.9%. The mean levels of physical and mental summary components of the SF-36 were 40.28 and 40.89, respectively. The EQ-VAS mean score was 59.63%, while the EQ-5D Europe VAS index and the York A1 Tariff index were 0.586 and 0.547, respectively. Reliability analysis found Cronbach's to be 0.890 for the SF-36 and 0.701 for the EQ-5D. Convergent validity was proved to be at satisfactory levels. Impaired HRQOL was associated with worse NYHA class and echocardiographic indices of impaired LV systolic and diastolic function. Apart from higher NYHA class, other predisposing factors for lower HRQOL were female sex, advanced age, low physical activity, and higher levels of brain natriuretic peptide.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Symptomatic AF patients report impaired HRQOL. Functional status and echocardiographic indices of LV systolic and diastolic function appear to affect HRQOL significantly in these patients. The SF-36 and the EQ-5D are shown to be reliable and valid instruments in assessing HRQOL in patients with AF.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, "G. Gennimatas" General Hospital, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Dimitris
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Tsounis
authors.forename: Antonios
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ioannidis
authors.forename: Georgios
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bouras
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Raikou
authors.forename: Georgios
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Giannopoulos
authors.forename: Spyridon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Deftereos
authors.forename: Charalampos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kossyvakis
authors.forename: Konstantinos
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Toutouzas
authors.forename: Dimitrios
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Tousoulis
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Synetos
authors.forename: Vlasios
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Pyrgakis
authors.forename: Dimitrios
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Niakas
authors.forename: Christodoulos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Stefanadis
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001281:Atrial Fibrillation / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D002317:Cardiovascular Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D015897:Comorbidity; D003710:Demography; D004452:Echocardiography / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006115:Greece / Q000453:epidemiology; D006334:Heart Function Tests / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
chemical_list: D002317:Cardiovascular Agents