Book excerpt: This non-experimental descriptive study examined the influence of preoperative health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and clinical risk factors on adults' postoperative HRQOL at 6 and 12 months after coronary artery bypass (CAB). Using the SF-12v2tm Health Survey (Standard Version 2.0) and the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) Mortality and Morbidity risk assessment score, results indicate the overall model accounted for 21% (6 months) and 27% (12 months) of the variance in postoperative HRQOL. The greatest improvement in HRQOL was seen in the domains of physical function. No significant change in patients' wellbeing indicated by the mental health domains was seen after surgery.