This longitudinal study explored heart valve surgery patients’ symptom clusters and quality of life at 3rd, 6th, and 10th week after surgery. From April 9 to October 20, 2014, a total of 101 patients answered questionnaires when they visited outpatient clinic at a general hospital located in J city. The questionnaire consisted of 40 items in Cardiac Symptom Survey (CSS), 36 items in Medical Outcomes Study Short Form-36 Health Survey (MOS SF-36), and 16 items in patients’ characteristics.
Data were analyzed with SPSS Window 18.0, using descriptive statistics, Chi-square test, t-test, Repeated measure ANOVA, Scheffe test, factor analysis, Pearson’s Product Moment correlation, Stepwise multiple regression analysis, and hierarchical cluster analysis.

The results of study were as follows.

1. The symptom with the highest score was chest pain at 3rd week, edema at 6th week, and sleeping problem at 10th week.
2. The number of symptom clusters was three at 3rd week, two at 6th week, and three at 10th week.
3. The relationships of quality of life after the surgery were significant with symptom cluster of type 1 and 3 at 3rd week, with type 1 at 6th week, and with type 1 at 10th week.
4. At 3rd week after surgery, a total of 76.3% of variance in quality of life was explained by two symptom clusters (type 1 and 3) and several characteristics such as education, gender, and job.
5. When the participants were divided into two subgroups based on their scores of symptom cluster type 1 at 3rd week, the two groups were significantly different on diabetes, operation site, heart functional state, and hospitalization period.
6. The two subgroups under symptom cluster type 1 at 3rd week were significantly different on all quality of life subscales, except role-emotion subscale.

In conclusion, after heart valve surgery, patients''s symptom clusters were related with quality of life during their postoperative period especially at 3rd week after surgery. A the 6th and 10th week after surgery, the relationships between symptom clusters and quality of life were weak.
As the symptom clusters influence the quality of life, the nursing management is required to minimize the symptom clusters in accordance with the postoperative period. The subgroup with high symptom cluster scores at the same period showed relatively low quality of life compared to the other subgroup with less symptom clusters. These subgroups require differentiated nursing management.

Keywords: heart valve, postoperative period, symptom cluster, quality of life