[Factors affecting restoration of work capacity after myocardial infarct]

The effect of some clinical peculiarities of the disease upon the restoration of the patient's capacity for work was studied along with the factors increasing the risk of repeated disablement after resuming the professional functions. The discussion is based on the results obtained in an out-patient study of 285 males who have been employed before their myocardial infarction in administrative-managerial jobs. Three groups of factors characterizing the functional state of the cardiovascular-system in the pre-infraction, acute and post-infarction periods are distinguished. It was demonstrated that the functional state of the heart when the patients resumed their work was characterized by the degree of chronic coronary and cardiac insufficiency, the scope of every-day physical activity, and was one of the essential criteria for the evaluation of the degree of rehabilitation. The first group of factors (essential hypertension, chronic coronary insufficiency preceeding the development of myocardial infarction) and the second group (clinical and anatomical peculiarities of acute myocardial infarction) are of secondary importance in determining the degree of rehabilitation. At the same time, the functional background of the cardiovascular system teinted prior to the infarction and the depth of the infarction, as well as the reduced level of the heart's functional capacity before resuming the professional functions, belong to the factors that increase the risk of secondary disablement in persons who have resumed working after a sustained myocardial infarction.