Factors contributing to delay in responding to the signs and symptoms of acute myocardial infarction

Hackett, Thomas P.; Cassem, Ned H.

doi:10.1016/0002-9149(69)90452-4

Cited by 203 publications

(50 citation statements)

References 9 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Although pain is the symptom that most commonly brings patients with an AMI into the hospital (Riegel, 1985), individuals who do not perceive themselves to be susceptible to an AMI may fail to recognize the symptoms as being related to their heart, and thus, may not perceive the pain to be of sufficient severity to seek medical help. This view is supported by Hackett and Cassem's (1969) classic findings that time of delay, from the onset of symptoms to the arrival at the hospital, decreased as the perceived severity of the symptoms increased. The authors also found that patients who attributed their symptoms to organs other than their heart had the longest delay.…”

Section: Theoretical Perspectivementioning

confidence: 67%

“…Social and cultural factors are likely to also be involved in the decision to seek help (Hofgren et al, 1988), as are the individual's coping mechanisms, particularly the use of denial (Hackett & Cassem, 1969).…”

Section: Theoretical Perspectivementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Patients vary in their interpretations of the significance of CP and in their responses to the presence of such pain (Hackett & Cassem, 1969;Hofgren et al, 1988). Because hospitalized patients are dependent upon nurses for pain-relieving interventions, communication of the presence of pain is the key to obtaining pain relief.…”

Section: Theoretical Perspectivementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Hackett and Cassem (1969) found that friends or strangers tended to be more influential than the subject's spouse in reducing the length of delay in seeking help. Conversely, Cowie (1976) noted the spouse's influence on the decision to seek help.…”

mentioning

confidence: 97%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Variables affecting the reporting of pain following an acute myocardial infarction

Schwartz

Keller²

1993

Applied Nursing Research

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Section: Theoretical Perspectivementioning

confidence: 67%

Section: Theoretical Perspectivementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Theoretical Perspectivementioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 97%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Variables affecting the reporting of pain following an acute myocardial infarction

Schwartz

Keller²

1993

Applied Nursing Research

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…As recently discussed by Barsky and 31,33,[35][36][37][38] This study presents findings from one urban medical center, and results may therefore not be applicable to other regions with different patient populations. Additionally, the current results should be replicated with larger samples and corroborated in other populations of cardiac patients.…”

Section: Background Variablesmentioning

confidence: 80%

Psychological factors related to prehospital delay during acute myocardial infarction.

et al. 1991

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background. Prior studies have had difficulty identifying factors that significantly explain patients' delay in responding to symptoms of acute myocardial infarction (AMI).Methods and Results. We therefore examined factors affecting the time between symptom onset and hospital arrival for 103 AMI patients admitted to a Detroit metropolitan hospital between October 1989 and January 1990. Variables evaluated included demographic and medical history factors, psychological characteristics of somatic and emotional awareness, and type A behavior. The mean prehospital delay time was 9.0±10.8 hours (median, 5.0 hours; range, 0.25-62.0 hours). Delay time was not significantly associated with demographic or medical history categories or with type A behavior. Of study variables that can be identified prior to evolution of an AMI, somatic and emotional awareness were the only factors significantly predictive of delay time. Patients who were more capable of identifying inner experiences of emotions and/or bodily sensations sought treatment significantly earlier than patients with low emotional or somatic awareness (low emotional awareness median delay, 12.8 hours; high emotional awareness median delay, 3.8 hours; low somatic awareness median delay, 7 hours; high somatic awareness median delay, 4 hours).Conclusions. Variations in sensitivity to bodily sensations and emotions appear to play an important role in treatment seeking and thus potentially in treatment outcome for AMI patients. Assessment of these characteristics in patients with coronary risk factors could allow early identification of persons at risk of excessive delay in responding to symptoms of AMI. (Circulation 1991;84:1969-1976 In order to have an objective indicator of the size of infarction, the peak level of total CK was recorded for each patient. A subjective rating of the patient's perceived severity of symptoms (intensity, duration, and range of symptoms experienced) was also recorded using a scale derived from Matthews and colleagues.13 Study Variables and InstrumentsThe primary dependent variables of the study included 1) delay time between onset of symptoms and illness decision; 2) delay time between illness decision and hospital arrival; and 3) total delay between symptom awareness and hospital arrival. Symptom onset was considered the onset of any acute symptoms identified by the patient, including chest pain or discomfort, dyspnea, diaphoresis, nausea/vomiting/epigastric discomfort, and arm, neck, or back pain.The psychological variable of somatic awareness was assessed using the Modified Somatic Perception Questionnaire (MSPQ),18 which provides an index of general bodily awareness by asking patients to rate their experience of noncardiac somatic and autonomic symptoms over a specified time period. Examples of items include frequency of feeling hot all over, blurring of vision, churning stomach, and dry mouth.The MSPQ has been used in at least one other study of cardiac symptomatology'6 because of its lack of direct cardiac-related symptoms. Due to ...

show abstract

Knowledge of Heart Attack Symptoms in a Population Survey in the United States: The REACT Trial

Goff

Sellers²,

McGovern³

et al. 1998

Archives of Internal Medicine

154

103

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Knowledge of chest pain as an important heart attack symptom is high and relatively uniform; however, knowledge of the complex constellation of heart attack symptoms is deficient in the US population, especially in low socioeconomic and racial or ethnic minority groups. Efforts to reduce delay in seeking medical care among persons with heart attack symptoms should address these deficiencies in knowledge.

show abstract

Factors contributing to delay in responding to the signs and symptoms of acute myocardial infarction

Cited by 203 publications

References 9 publications

Variables affecting the reporting of pain following an acute myocardial infarction

Variables affecting the reporting of pain following an acute myocardial infarction

Psychological factors related to prehospital delay during acute myocardial infarction.

Knowledge of Heart Attack Symptoms in a Population Survey in the United States: The REACT Trial

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About