Clinical results and quality of life after percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty: a preliminary report.

To evaluate the effect of percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) on quality of life, data on symptomatic status, functional capacity, life satisfaction, and psychological wellness were collected on 102 patients at 1 day pre-PTCA and 2 months post-PTCA, and on the first 50 of these patients at 10 months post-PTCA. There were highly significant changes (p < 0.001) in all quality of life measures between pre-PTCA and the 1st follow-up measurements. No further significant changes occurred in these measures between the 1st and 2nd follow-up measurements, indicating that the initial improvement in quality of life was sustained over this period. Data on primary success rate, complications, and pre- and post-PTCA risk factor scores are also reported.