Health-Related Quality of Life and Functional Outcome in Cardiac Surgical Patients Aged 80 Years and Older: A Prospective Single Center Study

BackgroundAn increasing number of octogenarians are referred for cardiac surgical procedures. In this subset of patients, information on the health-related quality of life (HrQoL) is critical for decision making. However, there is a paucity of prospective data. Thus, we sought to prospectively evaluate the HrQoL in octogenarians undergoing cardiac surgery. MethodsA prospective HrQoL analysis was performed in 106 elective patients (median age 83.02.6 years, range 80-91.8 years, 59.4% male) undergoing cardiac surgery. The standardized SF-36 Health Survey questionnaire was answered preoperatively, and three and 12 months postoperatively. Preoperative data, perioperative outcome, and postoperative morbidity were analyzed. ResultsSF-36 scores for physical functioning (44.3 +/- 2.3 vs. 52.0 +/- 2.7; p<0.001), role physical (25.2 +/- 3.3 vs. 41.5 +/- 4.1; p<0.001), bodily pain (57.8 +/- 3.2 vs. 70.7 +/- 2.8; p<0.01), general health (54.9 +/- 1.7 vs. 59.6 +/- 1.7; p<0.001), vitality (41.1 +/- 2.1 vs. 50.6 +/- 2.1; p<0.001), and mental health (67.5 +/- 2.0 vs. 72.4 +/- 1.9; p<0.05) significantly improved from baseline to three months. Social functioning (75.4 +/- 2.6 vs. 76.1 +/- 2.5; p=0.79) and role emotional (56.8 +/- 4.5 vs. 58.0 +/- 4.6; p=0.29) improved slightly without reaching statistical significance. Correspondingly, at three months, physical component scores increased significantly compared to baseline (34.3 +/- 1.0 vs. 39.4 +/- 1.0; p<0.001). SF-36 scores remained stable between three months and one year. No significant change was seen in the mental component score from baseline to three months (48.6 +/- 1.2 vs. 49.8 +/- 1.1; p=0.18). ConclusionsPhysical HrQoL is significantly improved in octogenarians three months after cardiac surgery remaining stable at one year postoperatively when compared to baseline. doi: 10.1111/jocs.12233 (J Card Surg 2014;29:14-21)