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Published on: December 3, 2021
A qualitative study of men's experience of myocardial infarction
Jane Margaret Hutton1, Sarah Jane Perkins
1Department of Psychological Medicine, King's College Hospital, London and South London and Maudsley NHS Trust, London, UK. j.hutton@iop.kcl.ac.uk
Insights
This study explores how men experience myocardial infarction and cardiac rehabilitation, finding themes related to self-perception, illness, and coping. Understanding these male experiences can improve cardiac rehabilitation services.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Psychology
- Qualitative Health Research
Background:
- Most myocardial infarction (MI) patients in cardiac rehabilitation are male, with better outcomes reported for men.
- A gap exists in qualitative research exploring men's lived experiences of MI and cardiac rehabilitation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To qualitatively explore how men experience myocardial infarction.
- To understand men's experiences within cardiac rehabilitation programs.
Main Methods:
- Semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten men recently diagnosed with myocardial infarction.
- Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was used to analyze interview transcripts.
Main Results:
- Emergent themes include men's views of self, illness, and the future.
- Coping mechanisms and experiences with cardiac rehabilitation services were identified.
- Findings are discussed in relation to existing literature, including studies on women's experiences.
Conclusions:
- Understanding the subjective experiences of men post-MI is crucial for tailoring cardiac rehabilitation.
- Identified themes offer insights for improving healthcare services and future research directions for male cardiac patients.
Abstract:
The majority of people experiencing myocardial infarction and attending cardiac rehabilitation are male and the outcome of rehabilitation is better for men. However, there is a lack of qualitative exploration of how men experience myocardial infarction and cardiac rehabilitation, which this study aims to address. Ten men who had recently had a myocardial infarction were interviewed using a semi-structured format, which covered events around the infarction, its impact on various aspects of life, ways of dealing with these experiences and experience of cardiac rehabilitation and other medical services. In this paper, the themes which emerged from Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis of the interview transcripts will be described and discussed in relation to the existing literature, and particularly to White et al.'s (in press) study of women who had had a myocardial infarction. These themes relate to views of the self, the illness and the future, ways of coping and experiences of rehabilitation. Implications for services and future research will be discussed.
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