The effect of the type A behaviour pattern on myocardial ischaemia during daily life

Twenty-eight subjects completed 2 Type A questionnaires. Just under half the patients were considered Type A. Painful episodes of myocardial ischaemia occurred more frequently in Type A patients during a stressful period of ambulatory Holter monitoring compared to a later date. This difference could not be explained in terms of severity of disease or length of myocardial ischaemia. Rather it seemed to reflect increased reporting of somatic symptoms on the background of a greater sensitivity to environmental stress. Type A patients may thus present themselves earlier than their Type B peers.