Family satisfaction and affect of men and their wives after myocardial infarction

To describe (1) the affect of patients who have had a myocardial infarction and their spouses during hospitalization, (2) the correlation between patient and spouse on affect and satisfaction with family function, and (3) the relationship between satisfaction with family function and affect for both patient and spouse.

Descriptive, correlational, cross-sectional.

Five hospitals in the Delaware Valley: four were community based and one was a university medical center.

Thirty-five couples who were married and living together. Patients were men with a diagnosis of myocardial infarction without renal, vascular, cerebral, or pulmonary complications who had been transferred from the cardiac care unit before being discharged.

The patient completed the medical and demographic data form. Both patient and spouse completed the Family APGAR, a five-item questionnaire designed to give a rapid overview of satisfaction with the functional status of either a nuclear or alternative lifestyle family, and the Affects Balance Scale, a 40-item adjective mood scale that measures positive affect states, negative affect states, and the balance between them.

Both patients and spouses experienced considerable negative affect and reduced positive affect during hospitalization when compared with the norms for nonclinical subjects. Patients and spouses were highly correlated on both measures, particularly for satisfaction with family function and positive affect (p < 0.01). Positive affect and satisfaction with family function were significantly positively correlated for spouses (p < 0.05). Additionally, it was found that both patients (p = 0.001) and spouses (p = 0.032) who were married longer were more satisfied with family function and that older patients reported more positive affect (p = 0.023).

Both male patients who have had a myocardial infarction and their spouses experienced considerable emotional distress during hospitalization, with the implications that assessment should focus on the family unit as well as the individual and that interventions be directed toward emotional as well as physical symptomatology. The results of this study also suggest that female spouses with lower satisfaction with family function and younger male patients may be at greater risk for higher levels of negative affect.