Exercise tolerance and quality of life in patients with known or suspected coronary artery disease

• Published in: Quality of life research Vol. 30; no. 9; pp. 2541 - 2550
• Main Authors: Katsi, Vasiliki, Georgiopoulos, Georgios, Mitropoulou, Panagiota, Kontoangelos, Konstantinos, Kollia, Zoi, Tzavara, Chara, Soulis, Dimitrios, Toutouzas, Konstantinos, Oikonomou, Dimitrios, Aimo, Alberto, Tsioufis, Konstantinos
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer Science + Business Media 01.09.2021; Springer International Publishing; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Cardiovascular disease; CLINICAL AND POLICY APPLICATIONS; Coronary vessels; Exercise; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Mental health; Public Health; Quality of life; Quality of Life Research; Sociology; Vein & artery diseases; Well being; Treadmill exercise tolerance test; Coronary heart disease; Physical health; Mental health; Quality of life
• ISSN: 0962-9343; 1573-2649; 1573-2649
• DOI: 10.1007/s11136-021-02844-y

Background Coronary artery disease (CAD) is known to impact on patients’ physical and mental health. The relationship between performance on treadmill exercise tolerance test (ETT) and health-related quality of life (HRQL)has never been specifically investigated in the setting of CAD. Methods Consecutive patients undergoing an ETT with the Bruce protocol during a diagnostic workup for CAD ( n  = 1,631, age 55 ± 12 years) were evaluated. Exercise-related indices were recorded. Detailed information on cardiovascular risk factors and past medical history were obtained. HRQLwas assessed with the use of the validated 36-Item Short Form Survey (SF-36) questionnaire. Results Increasing age and the presence of cardiovascular risk factors and comorbidities correlated with lower scores on the physical and mental health component of SF-36(all P  < 0.05). Subjects with arrhythmias during exercise and slow recovery of systolic blood pressure had lower scores on the physical health indices or the Social Role Functioning component ( P  < 0.05). Achieved target heart rate and good exercise tolerance were independently associated with better scores of the physical and mental health domains of SF-36 and overall HRQLscores (β = 0.05 for target HR and PCS-36, β = 1.86 and β = 1.66 per increasing stage of exercise tolerance and PCS-36 and MCS-36, respectively, P  < 0.001 for all associations). Ischemic ECG changes were associated with worse scores on Physical Functioning (β = − 3.2, P  = 0.02) and Bodily Pain (β = − 4.55, P  = 0.026). Conclusion ETT parameters are associated with HRQL indices in patients evaluated for possible CAD. Physical conditioning may increase patient well-being and could serve as a complementary target in conjunction with cardiovascular drug therapy.