Background and purpose: Nowadays, percutaneous coronary interventions are found effective in increasing the longevity in patients with cardiovascular diseases. But evidence show that quality of life after this intervention is still lower than desired. The aim of this study was to compare the quality of life in cardiovascular patients before and after coronary angioplasty.

Materials and methods: This cross-sectional study was performed in 106 patients undergoing coronary angioplasty in Rasht Dr. Heshmat Hospital, 2014-2015. The patients were gradually selected from angiography unit who met our inclusion criteria and were willing to participate in the study. The patients completed the MacNew Heart Disease health-related quality of life Questionnaire before and three months after the angioplasty. Data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics (paired t-test).

Results: The majority of patients were over 60 years of age (39.6%), male (67.9%), married (88.7%), living in the city (84%) and had high school education (62.3%).The mean scores for quality of life before and three months after angioplasty were 106.68 ± 13.74 and 126.6 ±15.99, respectively. A significant difference was observed in quality of life before and three months after angioplasty (P=0.000).

Conclusion: Coronary angioplasty improves the quality of life in patients and they can benefit from the advantages of coronary angioplasty as a minimally invasive and cost-effective intervention.