Objective: The Euroqol (EQ-5D) and short-form 8 (SF-8) questionnaires have been validated for the assessment of health-related quality of life (QoL). In previous studies, aerobic capacity influenced health-related QoL of patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS) before phase II cardiac rehabilitation (CR). However, the association between the change of aerobic capacity and QoL during CR is not known. The aim of this study was to investigate the correlation between aerobic capacity and both QoL questionnaires before and after phase II CR.
Methods: One hundred ACS patients were referred to our CR center after undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) or coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG) between September 2014 and January 2016. Each patient underwent exercise tolerance test (ETT) to determine aerobic capacity and completed EQ-5D and SF-8 before phase II CR. And follow-up EET and both QoL questionnaires were re-evaluated after 6 weeks.
Results: Pearson’s correlation coefficient demonstrated a significant association between EQ-5D and maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max) (r=0.20, p<0.05), but this correlation was limited to mobility, self-care and usual activity that were physical domain. While mental component summary (MCS8) was not correlated with SF-8, physical component summary (PCS8) had a correlation (r=0.30, p<0.01). After completion of phase II CR, the aerobic capacity was not correlated with SF-8, but with the EQ-5D. (r=0.23, p<0.05). In addition, the change of VO2max, EQ-5D and SF-8 were not correlated each other. This study displayed that EQ-5D was correlated with SF-8 (r= 0.36 to r=0.63) at before and after phase II CR.
Conclusion: EQ-5D was more relevant to aerobic capacity than SF-8 during the short-term follow- up. The aerobic capacity may have an influence on the QoL, however, the improvement of aerobic capacity does not mean the improvement of QoL.
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