With improved survival following cardiac transplantation, attention has focused upon the quality of that survival and some of the variables that may impact quality of life. The present study objectively measured subjective aspects of quality of life in order to discover its pre- and postoperative predictors. Results indicate that immunosuppression following heart transplantation creates a significant number of complications and symptoms for the recipient and is significantly related to elevated levels of psychological distress, particularly depression and anxiety, and decreased self-esteem. These findings emphasize the importance of careful symptom evaluation and targeting of distressed patients for psychological intervention in clinical settings and underscore the importance of continued medical research to improve immunosuppression therapy. Descriptive statistics reveal a rather mixed picture of postoperative quality of life which may result from the difficult clinical reality in which heart transplant patients often trade one set of preoperative cardiac symptoms for another set of postoperative symptoms related to immunosuppression therapy.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:arizona.edu/oai:arizona.openrepository.com:10150/277155 |
| Date | January 1989 |
| Creators | Chatel, Daniel Mark, 1957- |
| Contributors | Kaszniak, Alfred W. |
| Publisher | The University of Arizona. |
| Source Sets | University of Arizona |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text, Thesis-Reproduction (electronic) |
| Rights | Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. |
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