PSYCHIATRIC MORBIDITY AFTER MYOCARDIAL-INFARCTION

  • 1 January 1982
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 51  (201) , 33-42
Abstract
Using a standardized interview, psychiatric morbidity was diagnosed in 35 out of 100 consecutive male patients 1 wk after admission to hospital following a 1st acute myocardial infarction. Sixteen of these patients had been psychiatrically ill before the infarction and their psychiatric symptoms and social difficulties persisted throughout the 12 mo. period of observation. In contrast, patients whose psychiatric morbidity had been precipitated by the infarction tended to have transient symptoms and fewer problems of social adjustment. Measures of psychiatric morbidity 1 wk after the attack did not predict subsequent mortality or difficulty in returning to work. Only a history of heavy smoking was significantly associated with mortality during the ensuing 12 mo. Patients who regarded their illness as a loss or a threat had greater psychiatric morbidity than those who regarded it as an insignificant event.

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