Abstract:

Objective   To study the stress responses and related factors of patients with coronary heart disease after coronary intervention. Methods   For 60 patients 3 days post-coronary intervention, a survey was performed using Self-rating Anxiety Scale (SAS), Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS), Symptom Checklist-90 (SCL-90), D Personality Questionnaire and Trait Coping Style Questionnaire (TCSQ). Skin resistance was also measured for all patitents. A group of 30 healthy individuals was used as a control. Results   Both total scores and unit scores of SAS, SDS and SCL-90 of the patient group were significantly higher than thoes of the control  group(P＜0.05, P＜0.01).  The patient group scored significantly higher for both type D personality  and negative affectivity/social inhibition than the control group(P＜0.05；P＜0.01). The patients had more negative coping style(P＜0.05).  In addition, the patient group exhibited lower skin resistance than the control(P＜0.05), indicating  an elevated sympathetic responsein the former. It was shown that depression, anxiety and level of mental health had no correlation  with age, gender and education, while a significant correlation was detected   with personality and coping style(P<0.001).  Conclusion   Coronary intervention in patients with coronary heart disease triggered  strong responses  to stresses including anxiety, depression, lower mental health and . These responses were related with personality and negative coping style. 

Key words: Coronary intervention; Stress; Depression; Anxiety; Personality