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[Psychological and physical well-being of cardiological outpatients with chest pain]

Katrin Zimmermann1, Franziska Einsle, Sephanie Dannemann

  • 1Klinik und Poliklinik für Psychosomatik und Psychotherapie, Universitätsklinikum C. G. Carus an der TU Dresden. katrin.zimmermann@uniklinikum-dresden.de

Psychotherapie, Psychosomatik, Medizinische Psychologie
|January 23, 2010
PubMed

Insights

Patients with chest pain often experience significant psychological distress and physical complaints, regardless of underlying heart disease. Integrated psychosomatic care is crucial for managing these symptoms effectively.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiology
  • Psychosomatic Medicine
  • Psychology

Context:

  • Chest pain is a common symptom presenting in cardiology outpatient settings.
  • A significant proportion of patients with chest pain do not have a clear cardiological diagnosis.
  • Psychological distress and physical complaints are frequently reported by these patients.

Purpose:

  • To investigate the psychological and physical well-being of patients presenting with chest pain.
  • To examine the relationship between well-being and the presence or absence of diagnosed cardiological disease.
  • To assess the prevalence of anxiety, depression, and physical complaints in this patient group.

Summary:

  • Half of the 383 cardiological outpatients studied had no cardiological diagnosis explaining their chest pain.
  • Outpatients reported lower psychological and physical well-being compared to the general population, irrespective of cardiological disease.
  • Elevated anxiety (50.9%), depression (35.2%), and physical complaints (71.7%) were common; females reported higher anxiety and lower physical well-being.

Impact:

  • The findings highlight a high prevalence of psychological comorbidity in chest pain patients.
  • This underscores the need for integrated psychosomatic care, independent of the final clinical diagnosis.
  • Differentiating between cardiological and psychological causes for chest pain may not be clinically indicated.
Abstract

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