Quality of Life among Myocardial Infarction Patients Attending a Tertiary Care Center in Puducherry, South India

Abstract

Background: Coronary artery disease (CAD) is a major cause of mortality and morbidity worldwide. The prevalence of CAD in India is estimated to vary from 2% to 4%. Quality of life (QOL) is an essential component in the assessment and follow-up of CAD patients. The QOL of acute myocardial infarction (MI) survivors improves over time. This study aims to assess the QOL of MI and also find the association between clinico-epidemiological factors and QOL among MI patients attending a tertiary care center. Materials and Methods: This study was a hospital-based cross-sectional study. The study participants include patients attending cardiology outpatient department, who have had MI in the past, i.e. between 3 months and 3 years. The study was conducted between January 2018 and December 2019. The study recruited 330 study participants. The patient’s perspective on QOL post-MI was collected using a short form 36 questionnaire. The data analysis was performed using SPSS software version 24.0. Results: The maximum number of participants was 51–60 years of age, and the majority were men. More than 93% underwent invasive procedures such as angioplasty, percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty, and coronary artery bypass graft, whereas 6.8% of the participants were medically managed. The physical functioning and energy components had a median score of 70 and 57.5, respectively. Increasing age has a significant association with QOL. The QOL scores in the domains of physical functioning (P = 0.003), physical role (P = 0.017), general health (P = 0.005), energy (P = 0.001), and social functioning (P = 0.047) decrease as age advances. The QOL score was greater in the study participants 1–2 years post-MI (65–100 across all domains), whereas the scores were less in the 3 months to 1 year period (0–64 across all domains) and the 2–3 year period (60–87 across all domains). Conclusion: Quality of life scores had improved, were estimated in one year post myocardial infarction patients.