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A New Single Chamber Implantable Defibrillator with Atrial Sensing: A Practical Demonstration of Sensing and Ease of Implantation
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A New Single Chamber Implantable Defibrillator with Atrial Sensing: A Practical Demonstration of Sensing and Ease of Implantation

Published on: February 28, 2012

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Anger and long-term mortality and ventricular arrhythmias in patients with a first-time implantable

Susanne S Pedersen1,2, Christina Maar Andersen1, Matthew Burg3,4

  • 1Department of Psychology, University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, DK-5230 Odense, Denmark.

Europace : European Pacing, Arrhythmias, and Cardiac Electrophysiology : Journal of the Working Groups on Cardiac Pacing, Arrhythmias, and Cardiac Cellular Electrophysiology of the European Society of Cardiology
|May 20, 2020
PubMed

Insights

Higher state anger in patients with implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) is linked to increased 7-year mortality risk. Trait anger and anger

Area of Science:

  • Cardiology
  • Psychology
  • Behavioral Medicine

Background:

  • Psychosocial factors significantly influence heart disease prognosis.
  • Negative emotions in implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) patients are linked to mortality, but associations with ventricular arrhythmias (VAs) are inconsistent.
  • Anger has been associated with ICD shocks, yet prospective data on anger's impact on mortality and VAs in ICD patients is lacking.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between state and trait anger and 7-year mortality risk in first-time ICD patients.
  • To examine the relationship between state and trait anger and the time to the first ventricular arrhythmia (VA) in ICD patients.

Main Methods:

  • A cohort of 388 first-time ICD patients (2003-2010) completed the State-Trait Anger Scale.
  • Patients were followed for 7 years to assess mortality and time to first appropriate ICD therapy.
  • Statistical analyses were performed to determine the association between anger scores and clinical outcomes.

Main Results:

  • State anger at the time of ICD implantation was significantly associated with increased 7-year mortality risk (HR 1.05 per point increase; P=0.015).
  • Each 1-point increase in state anger score correlated with a 5% rise in mortality risk.
  • No significant association was found between trait anger and mortality risk, nor between state or trait anger and time to first treated VA.

Conclusions:

  • This study is the first to prospectively link state anger to long-term mortality in ICD patients.
  • Anger reduction strategies, such as mindfulness or self-regulation, may be beneficial for improving outcomes in newly implanted ICD patients.
  • Further research into psychological interventions for ICD patients is warranted to mitigate mortality risk.
Abstract

Keywords:
AngerImplantable cardioverter-defibrillatorMortalityOutcomePsychological effectsPsychosocial factorsVentricular arrhythmias

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