Coping and emotion in women undergoing cardiac surgery: a preliminary study

There is limited knowledge about how women manage the experience of cardiac surgery. This pilot study examined how women coped with surgery and their emotions in the perioperative period. There was no change in coping or emotion from the day before surgery to the fifth postoperative day, and coping was unrelated to emotion. Preoperative and postoperative confusion and distress were positively correlated. While preliminary, these results raise implications for medical-surgical nursing practice and research.