Perceived side effects and benefits of coronary angioplasty in the early recovery period

Objective: To examine patients’ perceptions of the side effects and the treatment benefit of percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) in the early postdischarge recovery period, and to determine whether selected demographic and clinical variables were associated with perceptions of side effects and treatment benefit. Design: Descriptive, correlational study. Sample: Convenience sample of 62 subjects, with a mean age of 62 years (SD 11 years), 77% of whom were men, who had undergone successful, elective PTCA. Results: Fifty-two percent of subjects reported side effects 2 weeks after PTCA. The most frequently reported side effect (22.5%) was discomfort in the groin site. Seventy-nine percent of subjects reported PTCA made things better, and 5% reported that PTCA made things worse. The most commonly reported benefit of PTCA was relief of chest pain. Age, sex, and a history of previous PTCA were not related to reported side effects or reported benefits. Subjects who experienced chest pain since the time of hospital discharge were less likely to report that PTCA was beneficial. Conclusion: More emphasis should be placed on helping patients who are candidates for a PTCA to predict and to manage treatment side effects and to have realistic expectations concerning the trajectory of recovery from PTCA. Further research is needed to examine the impact of patients’ uncertainty concerning treatment benefit or perceptions of no treatment benefit in the early recovery period on intermediate and long-term PTCA recovery outcomes. (Heart Lung® 1998;27:308-14)