Feelings of being disabled as a predictor of mortality in men 10 years after percutaneous coronary transluminal angioplasty

Objective: To examine the independent prognostic value of the four subscale s of the Heart Patients Psychological Questionnaire (HPPQ) on mortality in male and female patients 10 years following percutaneous transluminal coron ary angioplasty (PTCA). Methods: The HPPQ, which measures well-being, feeli ngs of being disabled, despondency, and social inhibition, was administered to 356 patients (23% women) post-PTCA, The patients were followed for a me dian of 10 years. Clinical and demographic variables were sampled from medi cal records. Results: During the follow-up period, 104 patients (29%) had d ied. Women scored significantly worse on all psychological subscales compar ed with men. Fifty-nine (72%) women and 92 (34%) men had a score indicating at least mild to moderate feelings of being disabled. Men scoring high on feelings of being disabled were at increased risk of mortality compared wit h men having a low score, adjusted for other cardiac risk factors (chi (2) = 7; P = .008). No differences were found between women with low or high sc ores on feelings of being disabled (relative risk (RR): 1.2; 95% confidence interval (Cl): 0.5-3.3). None of the other HPPQ subscales were related to mortality. Conclusion: Feelings of being disabled measured at least I year after hospital discharge is a significant predictor of mortality in men 10 years post-PTCA. but not in women. This finding adds to the increasing know ledge that psychosocial variables influence morbidity and mortality in card iac patients. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.