Individual differences in life-style response to coronary artery bypass surgery

Fifty-three patients who had undergone coronary artery bypass surgery 12 to 27 months previously were given four standard personality questionnaires and asked to write about the main effects the operation had on their life-styles. These responses were then content analysed. Although hierarchical grouping analysis indicated that the responses could best be classified into four groups, only three distinct response profiles emerged. The first group described mainly adverse consequences of surgery; the other three groups described the effects of surgery as beneficial. Personality test data suggested that individual personality and coping style considerably influence a patient's perception of surgical outcome, and that this perception is largely independent of cardiac symptoms.