Introduction:
Western societies are aging and a social policy of
Western countries will be to promote quality of life (QOL) for the elderly.
Consequently, quality of life assessment in the elderly should be considered
when analysing the risks and benefits of any therapeutic intervention.
The European registry found that aortic valve
stenosis (AS) is more frequent in subjects over 75 years , affecting up to4% of the individuals over 85 years of age .Considering that 6.9% of
individuals in Asturias, Spain, are older than eighty, the health economic
impact may be considerable.
Cardinal symptoms such as angina, dyspnoea and
syncope, are associated with poor prognosis and once these symptoms appear, the
definitive treatment is aortic valve replacement. Although some studies
have demonstrated that surgical procedures in octogenarians can improvefunctional status, morbidity and mortality, thus far, few ones have
investigated quality of life after aortic valve replacement .In the 1960’s, the Movement of Social Indicators of
the Chicago School developed the theoretical concept of QOL. Since then, the
concept has been understood in two ways: as welfare and as a vital objective
associated with psychological well-being.In 1993, the World Health Organization Quality of
Life (WHOQOL) group defined the term as an individual perception of life within
their cultural context as well as its objectives, expectations, concerns and
interests.
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