Psychosocial experiences of cardiac patients in early recovery: a community-based study

Objective To report on the nature, incidence and severity of problems commo nly experienced by cardiac patients in the early months of recovery, and to test the hypotheses that there exist differences in the incidences of thes e problems depending on age and sex. Methods 1124 emergency cardiac patient s discharged from hospital with acute myocardial infarction, unstable angin a, stable angina pectoris, chronic ischaemic heart disease or heart failure were surveyed 4 months after discharge. They were asked to indicate how of ten during the previous 2 weeks they had experienced each of a range of fee lings and problems common to cardiac patients. Results A large proportion o f patients reported experiencing problems in the areas of emotional reactio ns (70%), physical condition (79%), convalescence (67%) and relating to fam ily and friends (63%). Severe problems were experienced especially in the p hysical and convalescence areas (43% and 44%, respectively). A greater prop ortion of patients diagnosed with heart failure experienced problems than t hose with other diagnoses, and these problems were more severe. Amongst myo cardial infarction patients, a greater proportion of females than males rep orted severe problems in the emotional and physical areas, and patients 65 years and over were more likely than younger patients to report experiencin g severe problems with physical condition. Conclusions Many cardiac patient s are experiencing psychosocial problems 4 months after hospital discharge, especially with physical activities and convalescence. A knowledge of the incidence and nature of these problems may help nurses to assist patients t o validate their experiences.