Employment and recreation patterns in patients treated by percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty: A multicenter study

• Published in: The American journal of cardiology Vol. 52; no. 7; pp. 710 - 713
• Main Authors: Holmes, David R., Vlietstra, Ronald E., Mock, Michael B., Smith, Hugh C., Dorros, Gerald, Cowley, Michael J., Kent, Kenneth M., Hammes, LaVon N., Janke, Lynne, Elveback, Lila R., Vetrovec, George W.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01.10.1983
• Subjects: Angioplasty, Balloon; Coronary Disease - therapy; Employment; Female; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Occupations; Physical Exertion
• ISSN: 0002-9149; 1879-1913
• DOI: 10.1016/0002-9149(83)90403-4

Employment and recreational patterns were analyzed in 279 patients who underwent percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) for treatment of symptomatic coronary artery disease. PTCA was successful in 180 patients (65%). When it was unsuccessful, coronary artery bypass graft surgery was usually performed (80%). Return-to-work rates were high irrespective of the outcome of PTCA. Of patients employed full-time or part-time before treatment, 98.5% of those who had successful PTCA alone and 97% of those whose PTCA was unsuccessful but who underwent uncomplicated coronary artery bypass surgery maintained or improved their work status. In a subgroup of men who had been employed in occupations requiring physical labor, 85 % of the men whose PTCA was successful returned to work, compared with 68% of those whose PTCA was unsuccessful. The interval from attempted PTCA to return to work was significantly shorter in the successfully treated group; in patients with successful PTCA, the median time to return to work was 14 days, compared with 60 days in patients in whom PTCA was unsuccessful (p < 0.001). During follow-up, patients with successful PTCA had less angina and were more active in recreational activities than patients who required alternative treatments.