Avaliação de saúde e da dor no pós-operatório de idosos submetidos à cirurgia cardíaca

The aim of the present study was to assess health and pain among elderly patients with coronary heart disease who had been submitted to cardiac surgery. This is a prospective analytical study with a cross-sectional design and quantitative approach. The data was collected from a physical therapy assessment chart and the numerical pain scale involving 70 elderly individuals who underwent cardiac surgery at two hospitals in Natal, RN, Brazil. The most frequent age range was between 60 and 69 years (61.43%), 62.86% of whom were men. With respect to health conditions, 61.43% of the elderly presented pre-existing pathologies, the most common of which was systemic arterial hypertension (31.40%). Pain behavior was modest on the 1st and 3rd and mild on the 2nd and 4th days after operation. Most of the elderly submitted to cardiac surgery were men at the onset of old age who presented pre-existing pathologies, the most frequent of which was hypertension and with predominantly moderate pain intensity. DESCRIPTORS: Elderly. Health status. Cardiac surgery.