Recovery after a myocardial infarction is an individualized, ongoing process characterized by 'watchful insecurity', suggesting that post-MI support services should be tailored to individual pathways.
AIM: To explore the meaning of recovery from the perspective of patients who have had a myocardial infarction (MI) and their carers. METHOD: Constructivist grounded theory was used, incorporating individual and group interviews. Twenty-four cardiac support group members (15 patients and nine carers) participated in a group interview. Ten patients were individually interviewed six to nine months after MI. FINDINGS: Following an MI, participants felt different from how they were as a person' before the MI. Recovery was therefore an ongoing process that involved learning to live with that difference. 'Watchful insecurity' emerged as a core category in explaining recovery from the participants' perspective. Recovery was depicted as a series of 'peaks and troughs'. CONCLUSION: The individual nature of each person's recovery pathway can be used to develop acceptable and accessible services to support recovery following MI.
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Angela Tod (2008) studied this question.
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