Modification of the Coping and the Emotional Comorbidity in Patients Candidates to Cardiac Surgery

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of a program of psychological preparation for invasive procedures in patients with heart disease, candidates for cardiac surgery, to reduce emotional morbidity and improve perception of health related quality of life. Methods: A Quasi-experimental design was used. The study included a non-probabilistic randomized sample of 110 patients treated in the Division of Cardiac Surgery Centro Medico Nacional Siglo XXI Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social IMSS. They were divided in two groups: Experimental group (n = 44) and Control group (n = 66). Instruments: CHIP Coping Questionnaire, HADS Anxiety and Depression Hospital Scale, Health Related Quality of Life Questionnaire and a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) to measure postoperative pain. Results: The experimental group showed an increase in instrumental coping style compared to pre (M = 24.55) and post evaluation (M = 25.93); statistically significant differences were found in the variables of stress (p = 0.042), anxiety (p = 0.001), depression (p = 0.056) and health related quality of life (p = 0.000); while in the control group, the distraction coping style (pre M = 25.80, post M = 26.73) is the one that increased; there were no statistically significant differences in the variables stress (p = 0.274), anxiety (p = 0.671) and depression (p = 0.850), except for the health related quality of life (p = 0.000). This study is the first in Mexico to manage emotional comorbidity in this type of population.