Dynamics of Life Quality in Patients with Myocardial Infarction in Combination with Critical Ischemia of the Lower Extremities under the Influence of Complex Treatment Using Arginine-carnitine Mixture and Standard Protocol Treatment

Abstract

Introduction. The presence of critical lower extremity ischemia (CLEI) in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) limits the possibility of early invasive interventions and determines the tactics of medical preparation for surgery and prevention of complications. The aim of the study. To assess the dynamics of life quality using the EQ-5D-5L questionnaire in patients with myocardial infarction (MI) in combination with obliterative atherosclerosis of the main vessels at the stage of critical lower extremity ischemia and high risk of cardiac complications in the inpatient phase of treatment under the influence of metabolic therapy. Materials and methods. 67 patients with ACS (MI) in combination with CLEI due to stenotic atherosclerosis of the iliac-femoral arterial segment were examined: 35 patients of the main group who underwent emergency balloon angioplasty and infarct-dependent coronary artery stenting in addition with L-arginine/L-carnitine complex (“TIVOR-L”; “Yuri-Pharm”; in the form of intravenous infusions for seven days of 100.0 ml once / day). 32 patients in the comparison group received only standard protocol treatment. All patients, in addition to general clinical, laboratory and instrumental methods, were additionally assessed for quality of life according to the EQ-5D-5L questionnaire. Statistical processing of indicators was performed by the method of variation statistics. Samples were checked for normality of data distribution according to the test of S. Shapiro – M. Wilk, parametric (t-test, Student’s test) methods were used. Confidence interval (CI) and relative risk (RR) were used to more accurately assess the accuracy. Results. In patients of both groups, the severity of the clinical condition did not differ significantly and was due to typical manifestations of ACS and CLEI. In patients of the main group, the use of intravenous infusions of arginine-carnitine mixture against the background of the standard protocol treatment program led to the elimination of anginal syndrome in all patients and reduced functional class of acute heart failure. When evaluating the effectiveness of the proposed combination treatment and its subjective perception by patients, it was found that initially patients of both groups evaluated their quality of life with similar relatively low scores: an average of 26.14 ± 10.15 and 25.68 ± 9.74 points (p-value more than 0.05). We note a significantly higher assessment of quality of life in patients after a course of comprehensive treatment, whose quality of life index improved by an average of 160.9 % and reached the level of 86.5 ± 8.3 points. During the standard treatment program in patients with ACS in combination with CLEI there was a significant improvement in well-being, the total quality of life index increased by 40.2 %. Сonclusions. Patients in the experimental group with acute coronary syndrome and critical lower extremity ischemia who received arginine-carnitine mixture in addition to complex standard protocol drug treatment had significantly reduced feelings of chest pain/discomfort and anxiety / depression and tended to increase motor activity.