A qualitative study of men's experience of myocardial infarction

Abstract

The majority of people experiencing myocardial infarction and attending cardiac rehabilitation are male and the outcome of rehabilitation is better for men. However, there is a lack of qualitative exploration of how men experience myocardial infarction and cardiac rehabilitation, which this study aims to address. Ten men who had recently had a myocardial infarction were interviewed using a semi-structured format, which covered events around the infarction, its impact on various aspects of life, ways of dealing with these experiences and experience of cardiac rehabilitation and other medical services. In this paper, the themes which emerged from Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis of the interview transcripts will be described and discussed in relation to the existing literature, and particularly to White et al.'s (in press) study of women who had had a myocardial infarction. These themes relate to views of the self, the illness and the future, ways of coping and experiences of rehabilitation. Implications for services and future research will be discussed.

The effectiveness and experience of self-management following acute coronary syndrome: A review of the literature

“…Seven studies were conducted in Canada (Galdas et al, 2012a;Galdas et al, 2012b;Kerr and Fothergill-Bourbonnais, 2002;Sutherland and Jensen, 2000;Benson et al, 1997;Doiron-Maillet and Meagher-Stewart, 2003;Tobin, 2000), five in the UK (White et al, 2007;Hutton and Perkins, 2008;Webster et al, 2003;White et al, 2011;Gregory et al, 2006), five in Sweden (Hildingh et al, 2006;Kristofferzon et al, 2007;Alsen et al, 2008;SjÖstrÖm-Strand et al, 2011;Johansson et al, 2003), five in Australia (Everett et al, 2011;Davidson et al, 2011;Jackson et al, 2000;Worrall-Carter et al, 2005;Daly et al, 2000), each in USA (Coyle, 2009), Ireland (Condon and McCarthy, 2006) and Faroe Islands (Askham et al, 2010).…”

Supporting and inhibiting factors in recovery experienced by the patients after myocardial infarction during an 18-month follow-up

“…Difficulties and sorrows related to social relationships [2-4, 12, 18] and work [19] have also been reported as inhibiting factors in recovery. In addition, difficulties and criticism against the treatment and the care system have been presented in recovery after MI [2,14,19] .…”

“…Besides good physical health, various psychological factors have been reported to be supportive after MI. These factors relate to a positive and optimistic attitude or frame of mind [10,14] , while resources that help patients accept the disease also seem to support recovery after MI [12] . In addition, a variety of personal coping strategies have been reported [11][12][13][14][15] .…”

“…These factors relate to a positive and optimistic attitude or frame of mind [10,14] , while resources that help patients accept the disease also seem to support recovery after MI [12] . In addition, a variety of personal coping strategies have been reported [11][12][13][14][15] . Supporting external factors include helpful interpersonal relations and concrete practical help from family, friends and professionals [2,9,11,16] .…”

“…Supporting factors reported by the patients recovering after MI and coronary artery disease include both personal factors and external support [2,[9][10][11][12][13][14][15] . Besides good physical health, various psychological factors have been reported to be supportive after MI.…”