Coronary artery bypass surgery--impact upon the patient's spouse

The spouses of 65 coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CAGS) patients were assessed to determine levels of psychological symptoms and social impairment both before and 12 months after surgery. There was substantial psychological morbidity in spouses pre-operatively, with from one-third to one-half having clinically significant levels of depression and/or anxiety symptoms. Pre-operatively there was also significant global psychosocial impairment in the spouse. Of the specific domains of psychosocial adjustment, recreational and psychological adjustment was most severely affected, vocational/domestic adjustment and sexual adjustment being less impaired, and extended family relationships showing minimal impairment. There was significant improvement in spouses' psychological and global psychosocial adjustment at 12 months, with recreational adjustment showing the greatest improvement. Significant improvements also occurred in vocational adjustment but not in domestic or sexual adjustment. Neither physical, psychological nor social adjustment variables preoperatively in either the patient or spouse were predictive of psychological morbidity in the spouse (anxiety or depression) at 12 months. Similarly there were no significant patient or spouse preoperative predictors of social adjustment in the spouse at 12 months. However, the patients post-operative psychological morbidity and the spouses social and psychological morbidity were related.