Are there psychological and physiological differences between survivors of myocardial infarction, nonsurvivors, and matched controls?
Survivors of myocardial infarction exhibit significantly higher levels of depression and anxiety, as well as elevated cholesterol, triglycerides, and fibrinogen compared to matched controls, with depression scores distinguishing survivors from nonsurvivors.
The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory was administered at entry into and end of the project to 30 patients and 30 matched controls in a retrospective study of myocardial infarction. The MMPI's obtained on entry of 17 deceased patients were included also. Scores on the Welsh depression and Bendig anxiety subscales, and concurrent physiological measurements were obtained during the last 18 months of the project. These data were used to assess personality differences between: (1) survivors and nonsurvivors of M.I., (2) survivors and controls, (3) survivors with and without angina; and to study: (1) depression and anxiety of survivors and controls; (2) the correlation between depression, anxiety, serum cholesterol, uric acid, triglycerides, and fibrinogen; and (3) testretest stability of the MMPI. Survivors and nonsurvivors differed significantly on the Depression subscale. Only the K scale consistently distinguished the survivors and controls. Patients with angina and patients without angina differed more from each other than from their matched controls. The survivors had significantly higher values than the controls for depression, anxiety, serum cholesterol, triglycerides, and fibrinogen. The MMPI exhibited great test-retest stability.
Bruhn et al. (1969) studied this question.