Association of mood disturbance and arrhythmia events in patients after cardioverter defibrillator implantation

Quality of life in implanted cardioverter defibrillator recipients: The impact of a device shock

“…Other researchers 21,22,28,34 found higher anxiety scores in ICD shock recipients, similar to the results in this study, confirming this as a common response to ICD shock. Perceived fatigue was significantly higher in the shock group in this study, similar to findings from Dunbar and colleagues 32 and Dougherty, 41 who identified weakness and nervousness as prominent reactions to ICD shock. Eckert and Jones 35 identified that the lack of control of when the ICD shock occurred contributed to feelings of anxiety and powerlessness in recipients.…”

Ventricular ectopy: Impact of self-reported stress after myocardial infarction

“…Our findings also demonstrated a temporal relationship between stress and VPBs such that diary-reported stress significantly predicted VPBs in the subsequent hour period. This finding extends previous evidence from prospective studies that have shown that psychological factors such as negative affect, distress, and low social support are associated with ventricular arrhythmias (6,11,(17)(18)(19)(20). Moreover, our observations are unique in that they are based upon the assessment of both stress and ventricular ectopy during a typical 24-hour period following MI.…”

Emotional and Physical Precipitants of Ventricular Arrhythmia

“…30 In one study, higher scores on measures of anxiety shortly after implantation of an ICD predicted subsequent arrhythmia. 31 Avoidance of anger or anxiety is not possible for individuals leading a full life. However, psychosocial and behavioral interventions, such as stress management, and anger-reducing interventions have been shown in some, 32 although not all, 33 studies to decrease recurrent ischemic events.…”