Patients' and spouses' causal explanations of a myocardial infarction

This study examined lay explanations of an illness episode, myocardial infarction, at acute and convalescent phases of illness. Data were collected by interviews, using a structured questionnaire during the acute phase of illness (in hospital) and convalescent phase (at home) after discharge, from 50 first-time MI patients and 50 spouses or significant others. Tension (at work, in the home situation, and in general) was the most frequent cause given for the heart attack by both patients and spouses at both phases. Half the patients and half the spouses changed their mind regarding the cause of the heart attack between the acute and the convalescent phases. Further, over 50 percent of the patient/spouse pairs disagreed regarding the cause of illness at both phases. A high percentage of patients changed their smoking, diet, and exercise behavior, even when they did not list these factors as causes of the heart attack. Findings also suggested spouses should be included in discharge planning and special problems which spouses may face after patients' discharge should be addressed.