Type A Behavior Pattern and Mortality after Recurrent Myocardial Infarction: Preliminary Results from a Follow-Up Study of 5 Years

Abstract

The purpose of the current study is to examine the association between the type A Behavior Pattern (TABP) and recurrent myocardial infarction (RMI). Rosenman’s Structured Interview was administered to a consecutive series of patients admitted to the hospital for myocardial infarction (n = 88). Incidence and mortality from RMI in relation to TABP categories were evaluated after a follow-up period of 5 years. The number of new episodes of myocardial infarction observed in the extreme categories was nearly the same but the number of subjects who died was nearly twice as large in the B as in the A₁ category (10.3% vs. 5.8%, χ2 = 9.074, p < 0.0283). No subject was observed to survive after RMI in the B group. In agreement with other recent studies, our preliminary results failed to confirm the association between TABP and RMI, but showed a protection from death for subjects displaying high TABP levels. This finding is discussed in terms of the possibility for type A subjects to cope better with the acute illness.