Stressors and Stress Management 1 Month After Myocardial Infarction

Abstract

Stressors and stress management behaviors reported by 52 myocardial infarction (MI) patients were identified from a content analysis of transcriptions of nurse/patient/spouse interactions that took place 30 days postinfarction. Subjects defined stress primarily in terms of distress related to appraisals of harm, loss, or threat. Stressors and stress management behaviors varied, although subjects were similar in age and occupation and were in the same phase of recovery. Most stressors related to recent myocardial infarction and pertained to thoughts and feelings more than to external events. Others, related to family and/or work, were ongoing before the MI. Stress management behaviors comprised a continuum of physical, cognitive, and verbal behaviors ranging from active to passive. Avoidance of situations, ignoring situations, expressing feelings, and thinking things through were the four major modes of stress management behaviors. Implications for rehabilitation nursing practice are identified.

Stress and stressors of myocardial infarction patients in the early period after discharge

“…found a variety of themes, including the reflections of partners and MI effects on couples' relations. Consistent with previous research (Toth 1987, Miller et al . 1990) health‐related concerns were reported by this sample of Jordanian patients.…”

“…Although the stresses that patients experience following MI have been well documented, equivocal findings have been reported about the most important sources of stress (Pierce 1989, Miller et al . 1990, Bennett 1992).…”

“…In Pierce's (1989) study, role change/interpersonal relations were the most frequently reported concerns of discharged MI patients, followed by physical health and self‐care. However, 1‐month after discharge, Miller et al . (1990) found that patients' major concern was physical health, followed by inability to take part in rewarding behaviours, job responsibilities, and guilt about not showing expected behaviours.…”

Working with family carers: towards a partnership approach

“…The importance of family support is widely recognized in the rehabilitation literature [11][12][13] and involving carers has been actively promoted for some time in a range of disparate conditions such as multiple sclerosis, [14][15][16][17][18] spinal injury, [19][20][21] myocardial infarction [22][23][24] and stroke. [25][26][27][28] Notwithstanding such enthusiastic endorsements, it appears that families are rarely as fully involved in the rehabilitative process as they might be, and indeed are often marginalized.…”

Over Time

“…Shock, disbelief, loss, and feelings of being restricted either by their symptoms or by prescribed treatment regimens were also described. 12 In this study, interviewing participants at 2 weeks and 30 days was proposed because the literature surrounding self-care after an MI points to distress with a decrease in self-care at 30 days. 10 In contrast, Daly et al 11 found patients' health status to be relatively stable during the 3-week period after hospital discharge.…”