Emory
Researchers Find Women May Have Poorer Quality Of Life After Bypass
Surgery Than Men
While researchers
are still unsure whether coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) is associated
with more unfavorable outcomes in women than in men, a new study by
a team of Emory and Yale researchers suggests that women who have CABG
may have a poorer quality of life after the procedure than men.
Viola Vaccarino, M.D., Ph.D.,
of the Emory Department of Medicine's Division of Cardiology will present
the results of the study to physicians attending a poster session at
the American College of Cardiology (ACC) 51st Annual Scientific Session,
on Sunday, March 17th, 12:00 noon – 2:00 p.m., in the Georgia World
Congress Center (Hall G).
The Emory scientists compared
cardiac symptoms, quality of life (QOL), depressive symptoms and re-hospitalization
rates between 294 women and 787 men over age 30 who underwent CABG for
the first time at Yale-New Haven Hospital over a period of about a year
and a half. The study participants were followed for six months after
their hospital discharge.
"We found the mortality rate
after six months was almost the same in men and women, about two percent,"
says Dr. Vaccarino. "However, although symptoms and QOL improved from
baseline in both sexes, we found that women had less improvement in
several areas – including depression, shortness of breath, and health-related
physical limitations. They also had a more negative evaluation of their
surgery and recovery process. We have concluded that CABG may be less
effective in improving QOL in women with coronary heart disease compared
with men, when patients are evaluated at 6 months after the surgery."
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