Impact of a learning program on the psychological aspects of quality of life in patients with prosthetic heart valves

Aim. To evaluate the impact of a learning program on quality of life indicators in patients with prosthetic heart valves (PHV).Subjects and methods. One hundred and twenty-two patients with PHV were examined. A study group consisted of 72 patients who were trained at PHV school; a control group comprised 50 untrained patients. The comparison groups were matched for age, gender, education level, the underlying disease that had been a cause of heart disease, and the type of PHV. The SF-36 questionnaire assessing quality of life was used to evaluate the effectiveness of the learning program. Results. At baseline, before cardiac surgery, the patients with PHV showed low physical and mental health indicators in both groups. At 6-month follow-up, the physical health component was increased by 23.8% in the control group and by 27.4% in the study group trained by the learning program (p<0.05). Analysis of the scores of each scale of the questionnaire yielded significant results in both groups after 6 months of cardiac surgery (p<0.05), which showed better quality of life. The comparison groups had significant differences only in the scores of the mental health component. Thus, following 6 months the mental health component was 24.1% higher in the learning program group than in the control one (p<0.05). Conclusion. The learning program for patients with PHV, which is based on the principle of continuity of the in- and outpatient management, contributes to better quality of life mainly due to an improvement in the mental health component.

learning program, prosthetic heart valves, quality of life