Abstract
Aim. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of cardiac rehabilitation training on patients' quality of life after coronary artery bypass grafting at Dr. Lavasani Hospital in Tehran.
Background. Coronary artery disease is the most common and serious chronic life-threatening disease. This disease affects many aspects of people's lives and reduces the quality of life. In many cases, coronary artery bypass graft surgery is needed to treat cardiac problems. Improving the quality of life is one of the important goals of participating in a cardiac rehabilitation program.
Method. In this one-group quasi-experimental study, 45 patients under coronary artery bypass graft surgery, hospitalized in Dr Lavasani Heart Hospital in Tehran, Iran, were selected by simple random sampling and were studied in a before-after design. Data collection tools included demographic questionnaire and Macnew Heart Disease Health-Related Quality of Life questionnaire. Cardiac rehabilitation training program was implemented in two sessions of 30 to 45 minutes with an interval of at least 24 hours at the time of hospitalization. Quality of life was measured in two stages, before the intervention and one month after the second training session. Data were analyzed in SPSS software version 25 using descriptive and inferential statistics.
Findings. The highest percentage of samples was male (57.8 percent), married (95.7 percent) and had primary education (47.8 percent). The mean age of women was 60.32±9.73 years, and the mean age of men was 60.50±12.60 years. After intervention, the mean quality of life score (128.71±4.95) increased significantly compared to the mean quality of life score before intervention (96.66±9.30) (p≤0.0001).
Conclusion. Cardiac rehabilitation in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft surgery can increase their quality of life. Nurses can play an important role in improving the quality of life of these patients through implementing cardiac rehabilitation training.