PATIENTS' PERCEPTION OF RECOVERY AFTER CARDIOVASCULAR INTERVENTIONS: AN IMPORTANT INDICATOR OF LIFESTYLE CHANGE

Abstract

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is one of the leading causes of premature death in the world.¹ Recent advances in medical technology have led to lower mortality and better relative recovery in CVD patients. Today, various invasive procedures are used in cardiovascular interventions such as percutaneous coronary interventions (PCIs), which have led to improvements in the outcomes of CVD patients. However, despite the benefits of cardiovascular interventions, patients need to change their lifestyles. Therefore, patients with CVD need rehabilitation after cardiovascular interventions for complete recovery, which is often overlooked.²

Meanwhile, patients' perception of recovery after cardiovascular interventions is one of the key factors in predicting lifestyle changes in CVD patients. These patients should have a full awareness of a healthy lifestyle about physical activity, alcohol and tobacco use, and diet, as well as a proper perception of recovery after cardiovascular interventions.³ Hence, the results of a randomized controlled trial in the UK that assessed the impact of educational and rehabilitation programs on patients 'perceptions after myocardial infarction (MI) showed that educational and rehabilitation programs can lead to positive changes in patients' perceptions of recovery after cardiovascular interventions and lifestyle after MI, especially after three months of intervention. Also, patients in the intervention group reported fewer symptoms of angina compared to patients in the control group. Overall, educational and rehabilitation programs were effective in changing the perception of CVD patients and improving the functional outcome of patients after MI.⁴ In contrast, the results of another study in the Netherlands that evaluated the effect of a lifestyle intervention on CVD risk indicators in patients with familial hypercholesterolemia showed that there was no significant improvement between the intervention and control groups (usual care).⁵

The importance of this issue becomes clearer when these patients undergo invasive cardiovascular interventions. Despite the benefits of cardiovascular interventions, patients need to change their lifestyles. On the other hand, there is a link between patients' perceptions of recovery after cardiovascular interventions and lifestyle changes. Therefore, there is a need for serious attention to patients' perception of recovery after cardiovascular interventions. Obviously, patients' perceptions of recovery after cardiovascular interventions can be an important predictor of their lifestyle changes. However, to our knowledge, studies in this field are very limited. Therefore, it is suggested that researchers in future studies pay special attention to the perception of CVD patients of recovery after cardiovascular interventions as an important predictor of lifestyle changes in them after cardiovascular interventions.