Factors Associated with Perceived Life Chaos among Post-Myocardial Infarction Survivors in a Malaysian Cardiac Care Facility

Background and objectives: Survivors of chronic life-threatening conditions like myocardial infarction (MI) are often confronted with multiple physical and psychological stressors as a consequence of elevated demands of lifestyle adjustments and modifications. Such stressors, collectively known as “life chaos”, cause disruption to one’s lifestyle equilibrium of having organized, calm, and regular routines. The objective of the current study was to determine the level of life chaos and its associated correlates among post-myocardial infarction (post-MI) survivors in Malaysia. Materials and Methods: An analytical cross-sectional study was conducted among 242 post-MI survivors in a Malaysian cardiac health facility from July to September 2016. A self-administered questionnaire in Malay that consisted of items on socio-demographics, health attributes, validated OSLO-3 Social Support Scale (OSS-3), and the Modified Confusion, Hubbub, and Order Scale (CHAOS-6) was utilized in this study. Descriptive, bivariate, and multivariate analyses were conducted. Results: The sample constituted of 208 (86%) men and 34 (14%) women. The average age was 55 years (SD = 11), and the age ranged between 24 and 96 years. Overall, 128 (52.9%) of the total post-MI survivors had highly chaotic lives. In multivariate analysis, younger age, lower household income, perceived financial insecurity, poor health status, and multiple comorbidities were related to the high chaos score, and these associations were statistically significant (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Highly chaotic lifestyles were prevalent in post-MI survivors. Demographic, health attributes, and socio-economic factors were important correlates of life chaos.