BACKGROUND: Studies assessing health status have not addressed differences among patients with unstable angina, non-ST elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) and ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). This study was aimed at comparing health status scores according to the Seattle Angina Questionnaire (SAQ) in patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS). METHODS: SAQ was applied at hospital admission and at 6-month follow-up in 391 patients with ACS. Three domains were analyzed: physical limitation (D1), anginal frequency (D3) and disease perception (D5). Higher D1, D3 and D5 scores indicated less physical limitation, lower frequency of angina and better quality of life, respectively. RESULTS: At hospital admission, patients with unstable angina presented significantly lower scores of anginal frequency and disease perception than those with NSTEMI, and significantly lower scores of physical activity, anginal frequency and disease perception than those with STEMI. At the 6-month follow-up, patients with unstable angina still presented lower scores of physical activity, anginal frequency and disease perception than those with STEMI, but there were no significant differences when compared to those with NSTEMI. The SAQ domains increased to a greater extent in patients with unstable angina. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with unstable angina had worse health status at hospital admission and at the 6-month follow-up but, on the other hand, showed the largest improvements for each one of the SAQ domains analyzed.
Acute coronary syndrome; Quality of life; Health status; Angioplasty, Balloon, Coronary
