Quality of Life and Self-Care Behavior in Patients After Heart Transplantation

We aimed to study the quality of life and self-care behavior of patients undergoing heart transplantation.

We conducted a retrospective, descriptive study among recipients of heart transplants at Ramathibodi Hospital between 2017 and 2024. The study included 20 surviving patients, consisting of 17 adult patients and 3 pediatric patients aged 14 to 17 years, and elderly patients were defined as those aged 60 years and older. Patients who were unwilling to participate were excluded. The study utilized a 5-section questionnaire as a data collection instrument: Section1 Personal Data; Section2 Self-Care Behavior Questionnaire; Section3 Thai SF-36 QoL Questionnaire; Section4 Thai EQ-5D-5L QoL Questionnaire; and Section5 Satisfaction Score Assessment.

Most patients were male (71%) and had at least a high school education. Physical self-care behaviors were generally good to very good, with high adherence to medication, infection prevention, and dietary guidelines. Exercise levels were moderate, and emotional well-being was favorable, with low levels of sadness or anxiety. The Thai SF-36 results showed mean scores of 75.03 for the physical component and 80.31 for the mental component. The EQ-5D-5L assessment indicated that most patients reported no problems with self-care (94%), anxiety/depression (90%), pain/discomfort (87%), usual activities (87%), and mobility (81%). The mean health state score from the VAS was 73.71. Satisfaction with QoL significantly improved after transplantation (P < .001).

Recipients of heart transplants demonstrated improved QoL across physical and mental dimensions and maintained strong self-care behaviors. Continued support from health care teams is essential to sustain long-term outcomes and address remaining limitations in mobility and daily activities.