Advance Care Planning (ACP) in Elderly Cardiac Surgery Patients

A Feasibility Study on: Advance Care Planning (ACP) in Elderly Cardiac Surgery Patients

This is a prospective epidemiological pilot study to evaluate the feasibility of recruiting and retaining patients in a large multicenter study that will audit Advanced Care Planning (ACP) practices and satisfaction with End Of Life (EOL) communication and decision-making in patients undergoing cardiac surgery using the current validated questionnaires and methodology.

Study Procedures:

Once patients have signed an informed consent they will be asked to complete the ACP evaluation questionnaire. Their level of frailty will be assessed with the 5-meter walk test. Two weeks after discharge (+ or - 7 days) they will be contacted by phone in order to complete 3 sections of the CANHELP questionnaire.

Study Tools

Patient questionnaires:

1. ACP Evaluation questionnaire: 5 questions about advance care planning on admission to hospital from CANHELP study (time predicted 10 minutes)
2. CANHELP questionnaire (sections relationship with doctors, communication and decision making) 2 weeks after discharge (time predicted 25 minutes)

Patient test:

1. 5-minute gait speed

   Patient Assessment Data

2. Standard Demographics

3. Anthropometric data

4. Cardiac variables

5. Comorbidities

6. Lab Values

7. Frailty (assessed using 5-meter gait speed)

Post-surgical outcome data (will be sought in the chart after 30 days post-surgery)

1. Outcome
2. Complications

Inclusion Criteria:

• Age and over 70 years
• Admitted for cardiac surgery;
• Able to speak English or French;

Exclusion Criteria:

• Age under 70 years;
• Unable to participate in the follow-up telephone survey;
• Unable to speak English or French.