OBJECTIVE: To assess health related quality of life in patients with inducible postinfarction ischaemia.

DESIGN: A questionnaire based follow up study on patients randomised to conservative or invasive treatment because of postinfarction ischaemia.

SETTING: Seven county hospitals in eastern Denmark and the Heart Centre, National University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark.

PATIENTS: 113 patients with inducible postinfarction ischaemia: 51 were randomised to conservative treatment and 62 to invasive treatment. Average follow up time was three years (19-57 months).

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: SF-36, Rose angina and dyspnoea questionnaire, drug use, lifestyle, and cognitive function.

RESULTS: Invasively treated patients scored better on the SF-36 scales of physical functioning (p = 0.03) and on role-physical (p = 0.04) and physical component scales (p = 0.05) and took significantly less anti-ischaemic drug treatment. Angina occurred in 18% of the invasively treated patients and 31% of the conservatively treated patients (p = 0.09). However, more invasively treated patients suffered from concentration difficulties (18% v 4%; p = 0.04).

CONCLUSIONS: Patients who were treated invasively had better health related quality of life scores in the physical variables compared with conservatively treated patients. However, a larger proportion of invasively treated patients had concentration difficulties.