• Po-Chin Strong, Si-Huei Lee, Yi-Chieh Chou, Min-Jung Wu, Su-Ying Hung, and Chen-Liang Chou.
• Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC.
• J Chin Med Assoc. 2012 Mar 1; 75 (3): 121-6.

BackgroundThis cross-sectional study examined the relationship between patients' aerobic fitness and general health perceptions and how they correspond with functional aerobic impairment (%FAI) and quality of life (QOL).MethodsOne hundred and two patients were administered a version of the World Health Organization Quality of Life brief form questionnaire (WHOQOL-BREF). Then, each patient underwent cardiopulmonary exercise tests to determine their aerobic fitness and %FAI. We performed Pearson's and Spearman's correlation analyses to assess the association between variables on the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire and the each patient's aerobic fitness.ResultsPearson's correlation coefficient demonstrated a significant association between WHOQOL-BREF scores and peak oxygen uptake (peak VO(2)) in the physical domain (p = 0.006) and environment domain (p = 0.011). Spearman's correlation coefficient also demonstrated a significant association between WHOQOL-BREF scores and the %FAI in the environmental domain (p = 0.036).ConclusionQOL of patients who have undergone coronary artery bypass graft surgery is influenced not only by impaired aerobic fitness but also by poor physical and psychological well-being. The implementation of proper lifestyle modifications and the strengthening of social support networks following CABG surgery are very important for maximizing cardiovascular fitness and improving the QOL of these patients.Copyright © 2012. Published by Elsevier B.V.

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