Employment and recreation patterns in patients treated by percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty: a multicenter study.

Employment and recreational patterns were analyzed in 279 patients who underwent percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) for treatment of symptomatic coronary artery disease. PTCA was successful in 180 patients (65%). When it was unsuccessful, coronary artery bypass graft surgery was usually performed (80%). Return-to-work rates were high irrespective of the outcome of PTCA. Of patients employed full-time or part-time before treatment, 98.5% of those who had successful PTCA alone and 97% of those whose PTCA was unsuccessful but who underwent uncomplicated coronary artery bypass surgery maintained or improved their work status. In a subgroup of men who had been employed in occupations requiring physical labor, 85% of the men whose PTCA was successful returned to work, compared with 68% of those whose PTCA was unsuccessful. The interval from attempted PTCA to return to work was significantly shorter in the successfully treated group; in patients with successful PTCA, the median time to return to work was 14 days, compared with 60 days in patients in whom PTCA was unsuccessful (p less than 0.001). During follow-up, patients with successful PTCA had less angina and were more active in recreational activities than patients who required alternative treatments.