Table 1 Inclusion and exclusion criteria

Adult patients (≥ 18 years of age)

Primary research

English language

Published 2001–2020

Patients undergoing cardiac surgical procedures

Surgical ablation procedures in isolation

Ventricular Assist Device (VAD) procedures

Studies that did not include multivariable analysis of predictors of HRQoL only

Congenital heart disease

Heart transplantation

Transcatheter aortic valve implantation

Descriptive exploration of interventions such as cardiac rehabilitation

Studies that did not use a validated quality of life instrument

Comparison of quality of life in patients who underwent cardiac surgery with those who received percutaneous coronary intervention