The effects of age on quality of life in implantable cardioverter defibrillator recipients

Background. The implantable cardioverter defibrillator shows superiority over conventional pharmacological therapy. The implantable cardioverter defibrillator has been implanted with increasing frequency in patients who are either at risk for or have experienced a life‐threatening dysrhythmia. Implantable cardioverter defibrillator recipients experience a myriad of physical, emotional and social adjustments, with little being known about the impact of age on trajectory. Aims, objectives and design. Therefore the purpose of the study is to examine the effects of age on health status, quality of life, and mood states of implantable cardioverter defibrillator recipients during the first year after implantation using a repeated measures design. Methods. A comparison of implantable cardioverter defibrillator patients’ scores with other samples, both ill and well, are discussed to see how the two implantable cardioverter defibrillator age groups compare on the various measures. Human subjects approval was obtained from the institutional review board. Results. Seventy subjects, 51 males and 19 females, were recruited. There were 31 subjects between the ages of 21 and 62 years, mean age of 51 years, that comprised the younger age group, and 39 subjects between the ages of 67 and 84 years, mean age of 74 years, that comprised the older age group. Each subject completed the Medical Outcomes SF‐36, the Ferrans and Powers Quality of Life Index, and the Profile of Moods States at time of implantable cardioverter defibrillator implantation, and 6 and 12 months later. Conclusions. The older age group was as expected less physically active, less satisfied with their physical functioning, and had slightly more anxiety at 6 and 12 months than the younger counterparts. The younger implantable cardioverter defibrillator recipients demonstrated some improvements over time in the perception of their physical adjustment and anxiety. Relevance to clinical practice. Comparison of the SF‐36 with other populations with or without a medical condition revealed scores below norms in physical health for both groups, and only slightly higher than patients with heart failure for the older group.