Long-Term Follow-Up of HRQoL up to Six Years after Outpatient Phase-II Cardiac Rehabilitation

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Rehabilitation Medicine
• Health Psychology

Background:

• Low health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is linked to poor cardiovascular outcomes in coronary heart disease (CHD) patients.
• Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) is known to enhance HRQoL, but long-term changes and their predictors require further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess long-term changes in HRQoL after CR.
• To identify predictors of sustained HRQoL improvements following CR in CHD patients.

Main Methods:

• A cohort of 153 CHD patients with complete SF-36 HRQoL data at CR entry, discharge, and follow-up was analyzed.
• Linear mixed-effects regression models were employed to examine predictors of long-term HRQoL, including clinical characteristics and functional capacity (6MWT).

Main Results:

• Significant improvements in both physical and mental HRQoL were observed from CR entry to discharge.
• These HRQoL enhancements were sustained at a mean four-year follow-up.
• Higher functional capacity (6MWT) at CR entry predicted better physical HRQoL and showed a trend towards predicting better mental HRQoL at follow-up.
• A pre-existing psychiatric diagnosis at CR entry was associated with better mental HRQoL at follow-up.

Conclusions:

• Improvements in HRQoL achieved during cardiac rehabilitation are maintained long-term.
• Functional capacity at the start of CR is a key predictor for sustained physical and mental HRQoL.
• These findings highlight the importance of functional status in managing long-term HRQoL for CHD patients.