Frequency and covariates of fear of death during myocardial infarction and its impact on prehospital delay: findings from the multicentre MEDEA Study

Albarqouni, Loai; Rothe, Alexander von Eisenhart; Ronel, Joram; Meinertz, T; Ladwig, KH

doi:10.1007/s00392-015-0895-3

Cited by 23 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…Our findings indicating higher levels of death anxiety in MI patients were consistent with previous studies 16, 17, 18, 19. While higher levels of anxiety predict for a heart attack according to literature, heart attack itself seems to be a predictor for higher levels of anxiety 20, 21.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

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Death anxiety in patients with myocardial infarction or cancer

Şahan

Eroğlu

Karataş

et al. 2018

The Egyptian Heart Journal

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ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to find out the level of death anxiety among 3 groups: patients with acute myocardial infarction, patients with cancer and healthy individuals in two training and research hospitals; also to evaluate its relationship with several sociodemographic and clinical variables.Materials and methodThis study was conducted with one hundred and eighty persons (108 male, 72 female) who have been referred to cardiology or oncology departments and the healthy individuals. Participants completed sociodemographic and clinical data form, State and Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-I, STAI-II), Thorson Powell Death Anxiety Scale (TPDAS), Death Depression Scale (DDS).ResultsParticipants included in the present study were 40% female with an average age of 53.48 for whole group. The mean TPDAS score for patients with AMI was 51.60 ± 16.40, for patients with cancer 37.10 ± 10.23 and for healthy individuals 43.40 ± 13.35. In AMI group there were positive correlations between STAI-I and TPDAS, DDS scores and also between STAI-II and DDS. In cancer group positive correlations were between STAI-I, II and TPDAS, DDS. TPDAS and DDS were positively correlated in all three groups. Women and participants who were unemployed scored higher on DDS.ConclusionIn this study patients with AMI had higher death anxiety than patients with cancer or healthy individuals. Generally death anxiety was related with education, employment and socioeconomic status. Prospective studies carefully searching for different variables in different medical groups would reveal and help us to understand the importance of death anxiety and its impact on courses of physical and mental disorders.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

“…While studies on MI’s association with anxiety levels are mostly focused on anxiety as a predictor for cardiac event,13, 14, 15 a few studies focused on anxiety levels during or after the course of MI 16, 17. Studies focusing specifically on death anxiety or fear of death are fewer 18, 19…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Death anxiety in patients with myocardial infarction or cancer

Şahan

Eroğlu

Karataş

et al. 2018

The Egyptian Heart Journal

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“…We found no relationship between fear of death with age and gender, as in the MEDEA study [18], but it is in contradiction to one study in which women reported fear of death more frequently [17].…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 99%

“…Fear of death is often referred to as one of the main symptoms of ACS [16][17][18][19]; however, its magnitude and relevance are not fully determined. There is also scarce evidence on the predictors of fear of death in ACS patients.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fear of death in acute coronary syndromes – incidence and predictors

Sławska¹,

Siudak²

2018

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Introduction: Fear of death is one of the symptoms of acute coronary syndrome (ACS). However, no large data describing the incidence and predictors to the occurrence of fear of death have been published so far. Aim of the research: To investigate the prevalence of fear of death in patients with ACS as well as factors influencing its occurrence. Material and methods: The sample consisted of 72 patients aged 38 to 92 years, who were hospitalised for ACS and treated with percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) in an interventional cardiology centre. We used a dedicated, self-prepared, non-standardised questionnaire. Fear of death was defined as the simultaneous occurrence of a patient's fear and the thought of possible death. Results: Fear of death was present in 25% of all enrolled patients. The independent predictors of fear of death occurrence in ACS were: severe or very severe pain (OR = 4.79; 95% CI: 1.44-15.95; p = 0.011) and dyspnoea (OR = 4.98; 95% CI: 1.19-20.02; p = 0.027). There were no statistically significant differences in the occurrence of fear of death in pre-specified subgroups: gender, age, body mass index, co-morbidities, prior myocardial infarction, prior hospital stays, and presence of social support. Conclusions: The majority of patients with ACS do not feel fear of death while hospitalised for interventional cardiology procedures. The incidence of fear of death may be influenced by the intensity of pain and presence of additional symptoms like dyspnoea. Streszczenie Wprowadzenie: Strach przed śmiercią jest jednym z objawów ostrego zespołu wieńcowego (OZW). Nie ma jednak dużych badań opisujących częstość występowania oraz czynniki sprzyjające pojawieniu się strachu przed śmiercią. Cel pracy: Zbadanie częstości występowania strachu przed śmiercią u pacjentów z OZW, a także określenie, jakie czynniki wpływają na jego wystąpienie. Materiał i metody: Grupa badana składała się z 72 kolejnych pacjentów w wieku 38-92 lat hospitalizowanych z powodu rozpoznanego OZW i leczonych metodą przezskórnej interwencji wieńcowej (PCI) na Oddziale Kardiologii Inwazyjnej w Ostrowcu Świętokrzyskim. Wystąpienie strachu przed śmiercią badano za pomocą niestandaryzowanej ankiety. Strach przed śmiercią zdefiniowano jako jednoczesne wystąpienie u pacjenta strachu oraz myśli o możliwej śmierci. Wyniki: Śmierci bało się 25% pacjentów z OZW. Niezależnymi czynnikami, które wpływały na poczucie strachu przed śmiercią, okazały się ból o dużym bądź bardzo dużym nasileniu (OR = 4,79; 95% CI: 1,44-15,95; p = 0,011) oraz duszność (OR = 4,98; 95% CI: 1,19-20,02; p = 0,027). Nie stwierdzono statystycznie istotnego związku między starchem przed śmiercią a płcią, wiekiem, wskaźnikiem masy ciała, chorobami współistniejącymi, przebytym zawałem serca, wcześniejszą hospitalizacją oraz wsparciem społecznym. Wnioski: Większość pacjentów z rozpoznanym OZW nie odczuwa strachu przed śmiercią w trakcie OZW. Na pojawienie się strachu przed śmiercią mogą wpływać nasilenie bólu oraz występowanie dodatkowych objawów w postaci duszności.

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“…An acute myocardial infarction (AMI) with its traumatizing and life threatening onset (4) may qualify as a condition where denial may serve as a prominent maladaptive coping mechanism (4-6). Indeed, some small exploratory studies, mainly performed over 10 years ago, provided a preliminary evidence that denial contributes to delayed adherence to effective cardiac treatment by disavowing of the diagnosis and by minimizing the perceived symptom burden and symptom severity (7)(8)(9).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%