Quality of Life in Congenital Heart Disease Patients according to Their Anatomical and Physiological Classification

Background:Living well is as important as living longer.The objective of this study is to assess quality of life(QoL)in congenital heart disease(CHD)according to current AHA/ACC anatomical and physiological classification.Methods:Cross-sectional study examining the World Health Organization QoL Bref questionnaire(WHOQoL-Bref)in consecutive outpatient CHD patients from a single unit.Results:191 CHD patients were studied.Median age was 28±13 years and 59%were male.44(23%),115(60%)and 33(17%)CHD patients showed mild,moderate and great anatomical defects respectively while 69(36%)patients were in physiological Stage A,27(14%)in Stage B,84(44%)in Stage C and 11(6%)in Stage D.No significant differences were seen in relation the anatomical classification and the different sections of the WHOQoL-Bref questionnaire.CHD patients in Stages C and D had significant lower physical domain scores than patients in the Stage A(p<0.05).However,no significant differences were seen in the psychological,social relationships and environmental domains.The binary logistic regression analysis showed that having a higher educational level was a protective factor[OR 0.32(95%CI,0.12-0.87),p=0.026]while being married or cohabit was a risk factor[OR 3.46(95%CI,1.13-10.63),p=0.030]for having a worse rated QoL.Meanwhile,having a worse functional class(NYHA≥2)[OR 3.44(95%CI,1.20-9.81),p=0.021]was associated with dissatisfaction with health.Conclusion:Patients with advanced physiological stages scored lower on the physiological domain.No statistical significance was seen,according to the anatomical and physiological classification,in the psychological,social relationship and environmental domains.