Background: Age is expected to be a key influence in outcomes of women following coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. However, little is known about outcomes of women after CABG beyond 1-year and in younger-to-middle age cohorts. The purpose of this study was to assess the role of age on quality-of-life outcomes and physical activity levels.
Method: Sample included women who had CABG surgery in a rural community teaching hospital located in the Midwest (January 1999-December 2003). A cross-sectional survey design was used to measure current exercise patterns and quality of life (SF-36) 2 to 6 years after surgery. Three subgroups were structured for analysis: middle-aged, elderly, and the very old.
Results: A total of 658 women were identified (124 were deceased). Following a 2-step mailing, 329 surveys were returned for a response rate of 63%. Overall, 250 (76%) women reported participating in cardiac rehabilitation. Their mean age at the time of CABG was 69 (SD = 10, range = 32-89). Age distribution is as follows: (age/n) <65/n = 90; 65 -75/n = 165; >75/n = 74. Median time to follow-up was 4 years. Considering their age, women rated their physical health as follows: excellent 3%, very good 21%, good 45%, fair 25%, and poor 6%. Distribution of the 8 domain scores of the SF-36 are plotted on the star graphic below: General Health, Role Physical, Body Pain, Physical Function, Mental Health, Role Emotional, Vitality, and Social Function.
Scores for the 8 domains were consistent across the age categories. Scores on the categories of Role Physical and Role Emotional were only slightly higher for the young-to-middle age women compared to the older age cohorts. Mental health composite scores were consistently higher than physical composite scores. Vitality domain scores were the lowest across all age categories, regardless of the women's personal health rating.
Conclusions: Given the adequate survey return rate, little difference existed among the mean scores for domains of the SF-36 for the women in the 3 age cohorts. With 76% of women reporting participation in cardiac rehabilitation, only 24% women rated their health as excellent/very good. Mental Health was rated high, but women indicated low levels of vitality 4 years after surgery.