Patients admitted to hospital with obstructed heart arteries were three times more likely to experience complications when they were in hospital if they felt they were not in control of their condition, according to research published in the October issue of the Journal of Advanced Nursing .
However, persistent anxiety on its own appeared to have little effect on whether patients experienced complications or not.
Researchers looked at 171 patients admitted to hospitals in the USA, Australia and New Zealand with acute coronary syndrome (ACS), following them for two years. They concluded that giving patients greater perceived control of their heart illness could reduce complications after ACS.
"Coronary heart disease is the leading single cause of death in Australia and the USA, accounting for almost one in five deaths and leading to 50,000 hospital admissions a year in Australia and 1.76 million a year in the USA" says lead author Sharon McKinley, Professor of Critical Care Nursing at the University of Technology, Sydney, Australia.
Almost two-thirds of the patients studied were men (64 per cent), with an average age of 69 years.
The research team spoke to all the participants at three, 12 and 24 months and gave them a free telephone number to call if they attended hospital for suspected ACS symptoms.
Experienced cardiovascular nurses trained in data abstraction for the purposes of the study then examined the patients' records for a range of clinical characteristics and complications.
The anxiety and perceived control measures were obtained in face-to-face interviews when patients were enrolled in the study and by mailed questionnaires with follow-up telephone interviews at three and 12 months.
Key findings included:
"The findings that low perceived control, but not persistent anxiety, were predictive of in-hospital complications after ACS has two key implications for nursing practice and policy" says Professor McKinley.
"Firstly, it may be possible for nurses to increase cardiac patients' perception of control over their illness and secondly, increasing perceived control may reduce the risk of complications after ACS."
Notes to editors
Complications after acute coronary syndrome are reduced by perceived control of cardiac illness. McKinley et al. Journal of Advanced Nursing . 68.10, pp2320– 2330 (October 2012). doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2648.2011.05933.x
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Journal of Advanced Nursing