Health-Related Quality of Life in Myocardial Infarction Patients Undergoing Thrombolytic Therapy vs. Percutaneous Coronary Intervention: A Comparative Study in a Tertiary Care Hospital, Sri Lanka

Background: Thrombolytic therapy and percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) are non-surgical treatments for patients with myocardial infarction (MI). Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is used to determine the impact of treatment options on patient outcomes. Evidence comparing thrombolytic therapy and PCI on the quality of life (QoL) of patients with MI in the local context is lacking. This study compares the QoL of patients with MI who underwent thrombolytic therapy or PCI three months after treatment. 
Methods: Fifty patients for each group were selected. QoL was assessed using the SF-36 instrument. It contains eight domains; high scores denote high QoL. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Mann–Whitney U-test, and Spearman’s correlation coefficient. An alpha level of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. 
Results: Compared to patients who underwent thrombolytic therapy, significantly higher overall QoL was found among patients who underwent PCI (mean 42.35 vs. 77.69, p < .001). Similarly, patients with MI who underwent PCI had significantly higher scores in all eight domains of SF-36 (p < .001). Very high scores were found in the domains of role limitation-physical, role limitation-emotional, and emotional well-being (mean ≥90) in the PCI group. A remarkable difference in QoL scores was found in the domains of role limitations-physical and role limitations-emotional between the two groups (mean 19.00 vs. 95.50; 37.33 vs. 98.00, respectively). Statistically significant positive intercorrelations were seen between SF-36 domains, more frequently among the thrombolytic group than the PCI group. 
Conclusions: Patients with MI who underwent PCI had better QoL than patients who underwent thrombolytic therapy.