Aim. To report a study of family members’ experiences of living with a person suffering from intermittent claudication caused by peripheral arterial disease.
Background. Intermittent claudication is a symptom caused by peripheral arterial disease. Walking ability is reduced due to pain and this also affects the family members and leads to consequences such as isolation and a restricted life.
Design. This study has a qualitative descriptive design.
Methods. Ten spouses living with a person suffering from intermittent claudication were interviewed between December 2009–June 2010. The interviews were then analysed using qualitative thematic analysis.
Findings. Four themes were identified: ‘Frustrating to not meet intentions’, ‘Undergoing changes in social life’, ‘Being a person on the side of things’ and ‘Intertwining of circumstances’. The overall theme ‘Living a demanding life’ illustrates that intermittent claudication has great impact on daily life among spouses.
Conclusion. This study gives an insight into the complexities and the difficulties of living together with someone suffering from intermittent claudication, a symptom that has great impact on both the spouses’ and the ill persons’ lives. According to the findings in this study, it is important to gain knowledge about the spouses’ experiences because an holistic perspective is essential to treat and support the ill persons and their spouses.
Life with peripheral arterial disease and the resulting impaired walking ability leads to major limitations in daily life and a decreased quality of life. The overall aim of this thesis was to generate understanding about the life situation among people living with peripheral arterial disease and their family members. The outcomes after percutaneous transluminal angioplasty interventions both proximal and distal to the inguinal ligament were assessed by collecting data by means of chart review using a study specific protocol. The results show a connection between proximal intervention and age as well as proximal intervention and smoking. Patients in the proximal group were younger and more frequent smokers or former smokers and hematomas/bruises as a complication were more common among non-diabetic patients (Paper I). Health related quality of life in patients with peripheral arterial disease undergoing percutaneous transluminal angioplasty intervention was investigated using a general questionnaire (EQ5D) as well as a disease-specific questionnaire (CLAU-S) translated into Swedish for this study. The health related quality of life was improved both one month and one year after the percutaneous transluminal angioplasty compared to before the intervention (Paper II). The experiences of living with intermittent claudication were studied through qualitative interviews with individuals suffering from peripheral arterial disease. The interviews were analyzed by thematic content analysis and six themes together founded a main theme concerning adjusting to a restricted life when living with intermittent claudication (Paper III). Spouses and cohabitants were interviewed about their experiences of living together with a person suffering from intermittent claudication. The overall theme was about living a demanding life when living together with someone with intermittent claudication. The findings of this study give insight into the complexities and the difficulties of ageing and living together with someone suffering from intermittent claudication (Paper IV). In conclusion, living with intermittent claudication has a major impact on daily life and demands adjustment to a restricted life. Percutaneous transluminal angioplasty improves health related quality of life among individuals suffering from peripheral arterial disease and the effect is sustainable over time up to one year after the intervention. People who had undergone percutaneous transluminal angioplasty were younger in the proximal group and hematomas/bruises were more common among nondiabetic patients. Ageing and intermittent claudication have great impact on both the spouse’s and the ill person’s life situation