Gender Differences in Anxiety and Complications Early After Acute Myocardial Infarction

Background: Anxiety is the earliest psychological response to acute myocardial infarction. When anxiety persists or becomes severe, it has negative consequences including increased risk for in-hospital complications. Therefore, it is necessary to determine which groups of people are at risk for high anxiety after acute myocardial infarction. Objective: The aim of this study was to determine whether there is a difference in anxiety levels and rate of complications based on gender early after acute myocardial infarction. Methods: A comparative design was used. Patients with acute myocardial infarction were interviewed within 72 hours (mean [SD], 40 [18] hours) of admission to the hospital and completed a sociodemographic and clinical questionnaire and the Anxiety Subscale of Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. In addition, clinical data were abstracted from the participants’ medical record after discharge. Results: A total of 250 patients, with a confirmed diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction, participated in this study: 163 men and 87 women. Female patients were more anxious (15.5 [3.6] vs 8.1 [2.9], P
Source: Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing - Category: Nursing Tags: ARTICLES: Symptoms Source Type: research