A study on quality of life in patients following myocardial infarction

Subjective well being has been widely researched in the past few decades and in practical terms it is a term that encompasses the various ways people evaluate their lives including concepts such as life satisfaction, work and health etc. Since, it is well known, that psychological factors including stress, anxiety, poor sleeping habits etc are known to be important causes of life style disorders like myocardial infraction, we started with the hypothesis that subjective well being of post acute MI patients must be poorer compared to normal subjects in the same age group. A comparative study between normal subjects and post acute myocardial infarction patients was undertaken to compare their subjective well being and current mental health status, at Safdarjung Hospital, New Delhi using standardized questionnaires. The results showed significantly higher negative affect like inadequate mental mastery over immediate environment, perceived ill health including disturbed sleep, deficiency in social contacts, and a general ill being about life in the MI group (P<0.05). Regarding the positive emotions, the normal subjects showed a higher general well being positive affect, higher transcedence and higher perception of social support. (P<0.05). The GHQ also yielded significantly better sleeping habits, less anxiety, better perception of health and more satisfaction with life in the normal subjects compared to post acute MI patients. (P<0.05).