Quality of life: is it a practical tool in patients with vascular disease?

With increasing pressure on resources, health care managers are interested in evaluating both drug and surgical treatments. A single measure of the quality of life of patients may be a useful tool in such an evaluation. We have assessed two methods of measuring quality of life in this preliminary study and have found them to be useful and simple to assess in patients undergoing vascular surgery. Changes between the preoperative values and postoperative values correlate well with the clinical impression.