QUALITY-OF-LIFE AFTER CARDIOMYOPLASTY

Cardiomyoplasty has recently been used as a surgical treatment for ref ractory heart failure, but its results have not been well described in quality-of-life patterns. We studied the quality of life of 14 patien ts (13 men, with a mean age of 43.3 +/- 7.4 years) submitted to this p rocedure for treatment of dilated or ischemic cardiomyopathies. They w ere approached by personal, structured interviews before and 13 +/- 9 months after the procedure, focusing on the following areas: physical activity, food and sleep patterns, working status, social activity, se xual activity, psychologic state, and perceptions and expectations abo ut the treatment. The presence of limitation descriptors (discomfort, disability, and dissatisfaction) was recorded for all patients. The re sults showed an important decrease in limitation of physical activity, sleep pattern, social activity, and perceptions and expectations abou t the treatment. These findings suggest that cardiomyoplasty may impro ve the quality of life of a selected group of patients.