Patient’s emotional reactions in cardiac rehabilitation: analysis and perspectives

SUBJECT: Evaluation and treatment of psychological diseases are often included in cardiology rehabilitation programs. The aim of this study was to analyze the emotional reactions in a very consistent sample of cardiac patients, hospitalized for a rehabilitation program. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The sample consisted of 5417 patients, 4563 males and 854 females, with a mean age of 57.36 +/- 9.15 (range 18-83). They were admitted in the period between 1995 and 2005 and completed the Cognitive Behavioral Assessment, Hospital form (CBA-H). RESULTS: Significant level of state- anxiety was shown by 27.8% of the subjects, 22.1% reported health-related fears and 10% depressive symptoms. Women show higher scores in all of the three scales, and patients over 65 years scored higher in the depression scale. It is interesting to note that the mean scores in the three scales showed a progressive and significant decrease over the years. CONCLUSIONS: These data confirm that an accurate psychological screening can be extremely useful to support the Psychologist working in cardiac rehabilitation as it helps to plan more specifically the interventions, focusing on the objective patients' educational and psychological needs.