Improved health-related quality of life in patients 6 and 12 months after surgical aortic valve replacement

Objectives. Quality of life (QoL) is possibly the most important variable for the patient when subjective results of heart procedures are evaluated. The purpose of this study was to analyze the change in the quality of life 1 year after surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR). Design. A Finnish single-center prospective cohort intervention study was performed from 2013 to 2018. QoL was assessed with the EQ-5D-3L VAS questionnaire before surgery and 6 and 12 months after surgery. We used univariate analysis to assess the change in the number of people experiencing problems and logistic regression analysis to assess the patients' characteristics on the change in QoL. Results. At one year follow-up, patients' quality of life improved in all EQ-5D dimensions. The greatest decreases in patients experiencing problems 12 months after surgery occurred in the dimension "mobility" (-24.1% change in reporting problems, p < .01), "self-care" (-32.9%, p < .01), and "pain or discomfort" (-25.7%, p < .01). Before surgery mean of EQ visual analogue scale (VAS, from 0 to 100) was 63.0 (SD 17.7, n = 604), and 12 months after surgery 81.2 (SD 13.8, n = 367, p < .001). In multivariable analysis, preoperative obesity was associated with better quality of life (OR 3.39, 95% CI 1.007-11.439) in "daily activities" and patients' higher operative risk was associated with better "self-care" after surgery. Conclusions. SAVR can improve the 1-year quality of life in all dimensions of EQ-5D and self-rated overall health (VAS).