Stress-related symptoms and positive emotions after a myocardial infarction: a longitudinal analysis

BACKGROUND: There is a controversy as to whether the diagnostic umbrella of post-traumatic stress reactions is directly applicable to serious health conditions like myocardial infarction (MI). OBJECTIVE: The principal objective of this study was to examine longitudinally the prevalence of posttraumatic stress-related symptoms, throughout three measurement periods, for patients who had suffered a first MI. In addition to the analysis of symptoms related to stress and general distress, the presence of and temporary evolution of positive emotions and optimism in these patients was also evaluated. DESIGN: A longitudinal study with three periods of evaluation after the MI (Time 1 (T1): 48–72 hours, Time 2 (T2): 5 months, and Time 3 (T3): 13 months). RESULTS: In T1 few symptoms related to the stressful event were found. The probable prevalence of PTSD was 8–11% at 5 months after the MI and 0–3% 13 months after the event. With regard to subjective severity of the infarction, although in the first instance patients did not regard the event as excessively traumatic, in the periods T2 and T3 this perception increased significantly [F (2, 32)=20.00; p=0.0001]. At all times during the measurement period the mean positive affect was significantly greater than the negative affect. CONCLUSIONS: As the results show, the probable prevalence of PTSD, as well as the severity of different symptom clusters, is low at all times of the evaluation. The diagnostic implications of these findings are discussed as well as the uses and abuses of diagnostic labels to characterize the psychological experiences lived through after a potentially life-threatening health problem.