Short-term recovery from cardiac surgery in women: suggestions for practice

To examine the effect of sex on short-term recovery from cardiac surgery.

Prospective, nonrandomized design. Men and women undergoing elective cardiac surgery were interviewed in the immediate preoperative period and monthly by telephone through the third postoperative month.

Subjects were recruited from three cardiac surgery referral centres in western Canada.

One hundred and thirty-two consecutive patients entering the hospital for coronary artery bypass and/or valve surgery were recruited. Inclusion criteria required that subjects be able to communicate effectively and to live independently. One hundred and twenty subjects completed the study--60 men and 60 women; 30 of each sex group were less than 65 years of age and 30 were 65 years and older.

Women were more functionally impaired, had less social support and reported lower life satisfaction than men preoperatively. There were no significant differences between the sexes in the outcome measures three months postoperatively, and neither age nor sex consistently predicted outcome at the three-month end-point. Sex-specific issues reflect the social circumstances from which women entered the process of having their heart disease diagnosed and undergoing cardiac surgery.

Findings support recent conclusions that there are few differences between men and women in the recovery from cardiac surgery; however, the existing differences warrant serious consideration for changes in current clinical practice. Sex differences included women's poorer preoperative functional status, lesser social support and differences in the nature of work women return to following their surgery.