Factors Related to the Improvement of Quality of Life at 6 Months after Discharge for Myocardial Infarction Patients Treated with Percutaneous Coronary Intervention

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between improvement of health-related quality of life (QOL) and participation in self-care activities and coronary risk factor management at 6 months after discharge for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) patients treated with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). METHODS A total of 118 patients were asked to complete the MOS 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) questionnaire at discharge and 6 months after discharge. The SF-36 consists of eight subscales: Physical Functioning (PF), Role Physical (RP), Bodily Pain (BP), General Health Perception (GH), Vitality (VT), Social Functioning (SF), Role Emotional (RE) and Mental Health (MH). We examined self-care activities and coronary risk factor management and related factors from SF-36 scores to measure quality of life (QOL) at discharge and 6 months after discharge. RESULTS The PF and BP scores at 6 months after discharge were significantly higher than those at discharge. Increasing PF and BP scores indicated improvement in ability to perform physical activities and absence of intense bodily pain that would interfere with activities of daily living or work. Improvement of PF in AMI patients treated with PCI was related to performing exercise after discharge and absence of diabetes mellitus. However, there were no related factors for BP. CONCLUSION Our results indicated that exercise, as a self-care activity after discharge, for AMI patients treated with PCI may be related to the improvement of QOL.