An Epidemiological Study of Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Patients with Myocardial Infarction: A Prospective Study

Abstract

Background: Stress is one of the most important factors that may be accompanied with increased possible prevalence of cardiovascular diseases including myocardial infarction. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the correlation between perceived stress intensity and some cardiovascular risk factors in myocardial infarctions' patients. Methods: The design of the study was cross sectional. Overall, 2400 patients with myocardial infarction were chosen through multistage random sampling. A three-part questionnaire including demographic characteristics, perceived stress, and a checklist to record laboratorial test and electrocardiography changes were used for data collection. Results:The results of the present study showed that 45% of the patients had moderate and 55% had severe stress. Moreover, findings of the research indicated that there were significant differences between the mean stress level in various categories of the variable including gender, education, history of hypertension, blood pressure, diabetes, cigarette smoking, exercising, job, and family history of myocardial diseases. Conclusions: Regarding the high level of perceived stress in patients with myocardial infarction, it is necessary to devise a program and determine stressor factors to modify and decrease them.