Coronary artery disease and experiences of losses
Rachel Jurkiewicz1, Bellkiss Wilma Romano
1Hospital de Clínicas, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Curitiba, PR. rachelcwb@terra.com.br
Insights
Experiencing loss and subsequent mourning significantly correlate with depression in coronary heart disease patients. This highlights the importance of psychological factors in cardiovascular disease development.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Psychiatry
- Psychosomatic Medicine
Background:
- Depression is linked to cardiovascular diseases.
- Clinical observations suggest 'experience of loss' is associated with coronary heart disease (CHD) onset.
- Grief and psychosocial factors following loss can predispose individuals to disease.
Purpose of the Study:
- Investigate the impact of loss experience.
- Examine the relationship between mourning and depression.
- Focus on hospitalized patients diagnosed with coronary heart disease.
Main Methods:
- Evaluated 44 inpatients (acute myocardial infarction or angina).
- Utilized semi-structured interviews for loss experience and grief assessment.
- Employed the Beck Depression Inventory to measure depression severity.
Main Results:
- 66% of patients were in mourning; a significant relationship (p<0.05) was found between mourning and depression.
- 100% of patients with severe depression were in mourning.
- The most frequent loss events were death of a family member (47%) or close person (13%).
Conclusions:
- 'Experience of loss' can indicate psychological factors predisposing to coronary artery disease (CAD).
- Confirms a significant relationship between mourning and depression in CHD patients.
- Suggests integrating psychological assessments in cardiovascular care.
Background:
In literature, depression is associated with cardiovascular diseases. From clinical experience, we observed that the psychological category 'experience of loss' was associated with the onset and development of coronary heart disease. The experience of loss caused by self-reported significant event(s) leads to grief and the psychosocial factors which predispose the patient to diseases.
Objective:
To study the impact of the experience of loss by investigating the relationship between mourning and depression, in hospitalized patients with coronary heart disease.
Methods:
44 inpatients (50% men and 50% women, aged 33 to 65 years), with a diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction or angina, were evaluated. Two instruments were used: a semi-structured interview, for investigating the experience of loss and evaluating the state of grief; and the Beck Depression Inventory, for measuring the severity of depression. The results were expressed using the computer program Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 11.0.
Results:
66% of the patients were in mourning, the relationship between mourning and depression was significant (p<0,05), and we verified that 100% of the patients who had serious depression were in mourning. The most frequent self-reported significant event was death of a family member (47%) and death of a close person (13%), totaling 60% of the events, reported by 84% of the participants. According to the results of Beck Depression Inventory, 48% of them had depression.
Conclusion:
This study suggests that the psychological category 'experience of loss' should be used as an indicator of the existence of psychological factors that could predispose the patient to CAD, and also confirms the relationship between a state of mourning and depression.
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