HOME MEASURES OF ANXIETY, AVOIDANT COPING AND DEFENSE AS PREDICTORS OF ANXIETY, HEART-RATE AND SKIN-CONDUCTANCE LEVEL JUST BEFORE INVASIVE CARDIOVASCULAR PROCEDURES

The question was whether anxiety, heart rate and skin conductance leve l just before invasive cardiac procedures could be predicted by anxiet y related measures obtained at patients homes approximately 3 weeks be fore treatment. Trait measures of avoidant coping and defence were pro vided by sixty-three male and thirty-three female patients who were sc heduled for a diagnostic or interventional heart catheterization. In h ospital physiological measures were registered continuously during a 2 0 min interview and subsequently patients reported their anxiety. Resu lts with hierarchical regression analysis showed that sex, age, medica l variables and state anxiety at home explained 62% of state anxiety i n hospital. Female sex predicted high anxiety in hospital while advanc ed age predicted low anxiety. Medical variables and measures of coping and defence did not add a significant contribution to this prediction of anxiety. Skin conductance and heart rate measures could not be pre dicted by the psychological measures collected at home.