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Myocardial infarction and denial
1Department of Family Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
Insights
Denial can be a harmful response to heart attack symptoms, leading to delayed medical care and increased mortality. Educating patients and reducing hospital anxiety can help "stoical" individuals seek timely treatment for coronary artery disease.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Psychology
Background:
- Denial is a psychological defense mechanism that can influence patient responses to illness.
- Anginal pain and myocardial infarction (heart attack) are serious conditions requiring prompt medical attention.
Observation:
- Patients experiencing myocardial infarction often delay seeking medical help, with many fatalities occurring before hospitalization.
- This delay suggests that denial may play a significant role in mortality related to coronary artery disease.
Findings:
- Denial can be an inappropriate response to anginal pain, contributing to delayed treatment for heart conditions.
- Inappropriate denial in cardiac patients can increase mortality rates from coronary artery disease.
Implications:
- Non-threatening educational strategies about cardiac disease are needed to encourage "stoical" patients to seek care.
- Reducing patient anxiety associated with hospitals is crucial for timely intervention.
- Family physicians can screen for inappropriate denial and adjust diagnostic approaches to mitigate its impact on cardiac deaths.
Abstract:
Denial, a natural defense mechanism, can be either an appropriate or an inappropriate response to anginal pain. Myocardial infarction sufferers often delay several hours before seeking medical attention, and most deaths from infarction occur before hospitalization. These two facts indicate that denial may contribute to mortality from coronary artery disease. To encourage "stoical" patients to seek medical care, nonthreatening educational approaches to cardiac disease and concentrated efforts to reduce anxiety toward hospitals are needed. Family physicians knowledgeable about the effects of denial can screen cardiac-prone patients for inappropriate denial and alter diagnostic approaches in an attempt to lessen the role denial plays in cardiac deaths.