Effects of carotid endarterectomy on quality of life of patients with ischemic disease of the brain

: Effects of operation of carotid endarterectomy (CE) on indicators of quality of life were investigated in patients with ischemic disease of the brain (IDB). The quality of life was assessed in 45 patients at the preoperative stage and in the remote postoperative period with the help of questionnaire SF-36. All the patients were divided into two groups according to the degree of the initial neurological symptoms. The first group included 25 patients with an "asymptomatic" or "minimally symptomatic" course of IDB. The second group had 20 patients with a stable neurological defect resulting from "great" ischemic stroke. It was shown that in the first group of patients there was a reliable improvement of the life quality after CE in 6 out of 8 indicators. In the second group a reliable improvement of the life quality was noted in one of the 8 indicators only. The average values of the life quality indicators after CE in the first group patients were close to those in healthy population. At the same time in the second group they were considerably lower. The carotid endarterectomy gives the maximum effect of improving the patients' life quality if fulfilled at the early stages of IDB and is considered to be of probhylactic character.