Quality of life of cardiac arrhythmia patients after radiofrequency catheter ablation

Radiofrequency catheter ablation (RFCA) has been used to treat cardiac arrhythmias in Thailand since 1992. The effect of this procedure on quality of life has not been systematically studied. The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of RFCA on quality of life in patients with cardiac arrhythmias. Data were collected by interviewing 30 patients from February 1998 to August 1998, before and two months after RFCA. The questionnaire used for this study was created by researchers using Zhan's conceptual framework and SF36 in 4 dimensions--life satisfaction, self-concept and psycho-social well being, health functioning and physical well being, socio-economic and social well being. The questionnaire was validated by experts. Its reliability was tested by using Cronbach's test that gave an alpha coefficient of 0.81. Our study showed that the overall quality of life scores 2 months after RFCA (mean = 179.467, SD = 17.005) were higher than before RFCA (mean = 131.567, SD = 18.680). The results also showed a statistically significant difference (p = 0.000). It was found that RFCA significantly improved the quality of life of patients with various cardiac arrhythmias. However, this study consisted of a small sample size. Further work in this area with a large sample size is needed to confirm this finding.