QUALITY-OF-LIFE AFTER OPEN-HEART-SURGERY IN PATIENTS OVER 75 YEARS OLD

In a postal study we used the Nottingham Health Profile questionnaire to assess the quality of life of elderly survivors of open-heart surge ry. From January 1984 to October 1993, 146 patients over 75 years of a ge underwent open-heart surgery in the Department of Cardiovascular Su rgery at Besancon (France). Eleven patients (7.5%) died in the immedia te post-operative course. Patients' mean follow-up was 3.4 +/- 2.4 yea rs. Fourteen patients died during follow-up. One hundred and four comp leted Nottingham Wealth Profile questionnaires were returned. Five per cent of the patients lived in an old people's home. Six per cent of t he patients were unable to walk at all. One patient out of five felt i solated. Fifteen per cent of the patients were in constant pain. Half of the patients took sleeping pills. Conversely, 87% of the patients f elt an improvement after surgery. Sixty-two per cent continued to driv e. Ninety-seven patients (92%) did at least one of the following three activities: watched television, listened to the radio, read books or magazines. Fifty-eight patients (56%) walked on a regular basis. The d ifferent types of pathology, of surgical procedures and whether or not a pacemaker was implanted during the post-operative course were not r eflected in the quality of life (QOL) scores. After cardiac surgery, m ost of the patients were physically autonomous and related to their ex terior world.