Psychological Correlates of Coronary Angiographic Findings

Prior to undergoing diagnostic coronary angiography, 94 men responded to tests for the coronary-prone behavior pattern, anxiety, depression, and neuroticism. Independently, cardiologists rated cineangiograms by the percent of atheromatous luminal obstruction in four major coronary arteries. The patients with greater atheromatous obstruction scored significantly higher than those with lesser disease on all four scales of the test for the type A coronary-prone behavior pattern. Those with more seriously diseased vessels also scored significantly higher on anxiety and depression scales but significantly lower on a denial scale. Men rated as having more frequent and intense angina pain scored significantly higher on hypochondriasis, depression, and admission of symptoms than men less subject to ischemic pain. Multivariate statistical analyses revealed that the findings regarding extent of atherosclerosis are independent of anginal pain or congestive heart failure.