Men making sense of their chest pain – niggles, doubts and denials

Participant observation was undertaken of the early admission period of 25 men admitted to hospital with acute chest pain, followed by in-depth interviews of 10 of the men after discharge. Grounded theory methods were used in the analysis to develop a model of how the men came to interpret their experiences. An emerging feature of the men's experiences was that, although they had suffered intense pain prior to admission, there had been a series of delays whilst they tried to rationalize their symptoms. We relate our discussion to literature on men and masculinity and the notion of Foucault (1975) of self-surveillance, to offer an insight into the men's self concept and social situation. Our conclusions suggest that men's self concept as 'healthy' may inhibit a speedy response to the signs and symptoms of acute coronary occlusion, increasing the risk of cardiac arrest without nearby life support.