Key result
Following a partner's ICD implantation, intimate partners experienced significant declines in physical health, symptoms, and depression over 1 year, while anxiety remained elevated.
Why the study?
How does the physical and mental health of intimate partners of patients receiving an ICD change over the first year after implantation?
Observational
How does the physical and mental health of intimate partners of patients receiving an ICD change over the first year after implantation?
Intimate partners of ICD recipients experience significant declines in physical and mental health over the first year, highlighting the need for psychological and caregiving support interventions.
May warrant monitoring partners' health after ICD implantation; observational data leaves open whether interventions improve outcomes.
The purpose of this study was to describe the physical and mental health of the intimate partners of persons receiving an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD). A prospective longitudinal repeated measures design was used, with data collected at hospital discharge, and at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months after implantation. Intimate partners' physical health, symptoms, and depression significantly declined over the first year. Although anxiety was significantly reduced over time, it remained elevated in partners after 1 year. The impact of implantation of the ICD on the intimate relationship and care demands was most dramatic at hospital discharge. Health care use was low throughout the year. Intimate partners could benefit from an intervention that would assist in their psychological adjustment and provide strategies for dealing with caregiving demands at home.
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Dougherty et al. (2009) conducted an observational in Intimate partners of persons receiving an implantable cardioverter defibrillator. Partner receiving an implantable cardioverter defibrillator was evaluated on Physical and mental health. Following a partner's ICD implantation, intimate partners experienced significant declines in physical health, symptoms, and depression over 1 year, while anxiety remained elevated.