A comparison of health-related quality of life and disease severity in patients with stable coronary artery disease

Abstract

Aim: Self-reported health-related quality of life is connected with cardiovascular risk factors. The aim of the study is to find a relation between stable coronary artery disease severity and health-related quality of life. Methods: Data from a total of 339 respondents were analysed. Respondents in the target group with stable angina pectoris (n = 165) and a control group without stable angina pectoris (n = 174) were compared in cardiovascular risk factors. The Seattle Angina Questionnaire (SAQ) and the EuroQol EQ-5D-3L questionnaire were compared with the angiography findings and the Canadian Cardiovascular Society (CCS) grading reported on admission by a physician. Results: The group of respondents with stable angina pectoris reported lower scores in all domains of both the Seattle Angina Questionnaire (p < 0.01) and the EQ-5D questionnaire (p < 0.001), even when having the same risk factors as the control group of responders without angina pectoris. ANOVA Kruskal–Wallis did not prove a relation of angiography findings with any of the five domains of the Seattle Angina Questionnaire or the EQ-5D questionnaire. The CCS grading has a statistically significant relation with 3 out of 5 of domains of the Seattle Angina Questionnaire (αp < 0.05) and so does the EQ-5D index (p = 0.0161). Conclusions: Patients with stable angina pectoris have a lower quality of life compared to the control group of patients undergoing coronary angiography without stable angina pectoris. There is no statistically significant relation between the coronary findings and the quality of life associated with health in the target population. There is a statistically significant relation between the evaluation using the CCS grading and 3 out of 5 of the domains of the Seattle Angina Questionnaire and the EQ-5D index. The assessment of quality of life should be introduced into common nursing practice to include the patient's perception into the assessment of the disease severity.