Abstract
Coronary artery disease (CAD) is a common condition among elderly patients, often accompanied by comorbidities such as hypertension, diabetes, and dyslipidemia, and poses significant challenges for the long-term management of cardiovascular events. Elderly patients face issues such as poor medication adherence and inadequate control of risk factors during the recovery process after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Continuity of care has emerged as a key strategy to improve clinical outcomes and quality of life. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of transitional care in elderly patients with CAD. A total of 108 senile patients who underwent cardiac stenting in Huadong Hospital affiliated with Fudan University from September 2021 to March 2022, were enrolled. The evaluation tools include a questionnaire on general data, SF-36, self-rating anxiety scale (SAS), Seattle angina questionnaire (SAQ), and CAD self-management scale for the elderly. Intervention was carried out with these senile patients 1 to 2 days before discharge, on the day of discharge, 1 month, and 6 months after discharge, which included health education at discharge, patient education conference, and telephone follow-up. Transitional care can significantly improve the life quality of senile patients after PCI, improve their self-management ability, alleviate anxiety, and physical limitation, maintain the stable status of angina, decrease angina attacks, increase satisfaction after treatment in senile patients, and promote their disease cognition (all P < .05). Transitional care can effectively control the risk factors influencing the prognosis of senile patients after PCI, improve their self-management ability, reduce the disease recurrence rate and re-hospitalization rate, secure the safety of senile patients, and promote their recovery.