Denial, anxiety, and depression following myocardial infarction

Psycho-Endocrinological Reactions in Female Relatives of Cancer Patients: Effects of an activation programme

“…Interestingly, in this sample of mainly mid- dle-aged women none was using psychotropic drugs during the periods of study. Psychiatric observations regarding anxiety, depression and mental exhaustion were made on each occasion (intervals between 3 and 4 weeks) by means of a standardised procedure according to Holland and Sgroi (2,7). Three observers were trained together.…”

Specific sources and patterns of anxiety in male patients with first myocardial infarction

“…Raised anxiety levels in coronary patients admitted to hospital have been well documented, with serial measurements generally demonstrating that anxiety is highest on admission to the Coronary Care Unit (CCU) and immediately after transfer to the ward, falling rapidly over the following week, rising just prior to discharge and falling to the lowest level at four months. (Cay et al, 1972~2, b ;Cay et al, 1973;Froese et al, 1974;Dellipiani et al, 1976;Vetter et al, 1977;Philip et al, 1979;Billing et al, 1980).…”

“…Studies which have looked at age (Billing et al, 1980) and physical severity of the infarct (Cay et al, 1972a, b ;Cay et al, 1973;Dellipiani et al, 1976) in male patients have found that these are unrelated to anxiety or outcome. Little data is available regarding the specific aspects of anxiety patients have concerning their MI, although Thompson et al (1982) found that returning to work was the greatest source of anxiety six weeks post-discharge.…”

Psychosocial Cardiovascular Risks – on the Double Loads in Women

“…Therefore men typically deny symptoms more often than women. A more pronounced denial tendency in men was observed in one of our earlier studies of men and women hospitalized for a myocardial infarction [5], Early recognition of bodily warning signs may be one of the factors that could protect women from de veloping premature myocardial infarctions.…”