[Present and premorbid self-image in patients with coronary heart disease]

The aim of this study was to find the differences between premorbid and present self-image in patients with coronary heart disease.

70 patients with stable coronary heart disease treated at the Internal Medicine Department of the Military Hospital in Lublin and 70 healthy controls were studied. Mean age of the investigated patients was 53.11 years. 77% of the studied patients were city inhabitants and 23% were countryside dwellers. Subjects were studied with the use of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, by the Adjective Check List (ACL) and a questionnaire designed especially for the study of sociodemographic data of the investigated patients. Premorbid and present self-images were compared with the use of the ANOVA test.

Our results showed that there are statistically significant differences between premorbid and present self-image in the perception of patients with coronary heart disease.

1. In present self-image, compared to the premorbid one, patients with coronary heart disease have low self-esteem, greater fear about the future, low endurance in performing tasks, they are less enterprising, have lower ability to overcome stress, they are more dependent and have a greater need to look for safety. 2. Women with coronary heart disease perceive themselves as having low self-esteem, low self-trust, more difficulties in overcoming stress and a lower ability to understand other people's behaviour as compared to the time before the disease. 3. Men with coronary heart disease perceive themselves as having less endurance, being less enterprising, having a negative attitude towards themselves and other people and being more dependant compared to the time before the illness.