[Psychological aspects of short-term follow-up in myocardial infarction]

The author analyses the outcome and emotional repercussions of myocardial infarction in the patient, his or her partner, and of the medical team who manages the infarct (coronary care and cardiac rehabilitation). The adaptive value of certain psychological attitudes is emphasised, for example the denial of illness, and the poor prognosis associated not so much with "type A" behaviour reputed to cause coronary disease but more with post-infarction depression or even with a more stable tendency to hostility in the emotional control. Some of these psychological characteristics may explain the difficulties encountered in designing educative programmes or in poor therapeutic observance by patients despite being aware of the risks they run. These considerations led to therapeutic implication ranging from the strategy of communication with the coronary patient to specific relaxation techniques or with help, to the gestion of stress, to the judicious prescription of psychotropic agents.