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Prospective Study of Perceived Stress in Cardiac Patients

  • Published:
Annals of Behavioral Medicine

Abstract

Background: Psychological stress is known to have a negative effect on the health andwell-being of coronary artery disease (CAD) patients. Although the study of stress CAD samples has received considerable attention, few studies have examined the effects of gender and age, hadmultiple follow-ups over an extended period, and had extensive baseline assessment batteries.Purpose: In this study, demographic, clinical, social, and personality variables were evaluated as predictors of nine repeated assessments of stress over a 2-year period in 322 CAD patients (33.2% female).Methods: At baseline, perceived social support, coping style, and social conflict were associated with stress ratings. Mixed models were used to evaluate predictors of reported stress during the subsequent 2 years.Results: The results showed that higher stress was present in patients who were female and young. Follow-up stress was also found in patients with moderate income, congestive heart failure, high social conflict, low social support, and negative coping style.Conclusions: These findings may help clinicians identify patients who are likely to experience higher levels of stress over a prolonged period following a diagnosis of CAD and may also suggest which patients may benefit most from stress reduction interventions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University Medical Center, Box 2969, 27710, Durham, NC

    Beverly H. Brummett Ph.D., Michael A. Babyak Ph.D., Ilene C. Siegler Ph.D., M.P.H. & John C. Barefoot Ph.D.

  2. Duke Clinical Research Institute, USA

    Daniel B. Mark M.D., M.P.H. & Nancy E. Clapp-Channing R.N., M.P.H.

  3. Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Duke University Medical Center, USA

    Daniel B. Mark M.D., M.P.H. & Nancy E. Clapp-Channing R.N., M.P.H.

Authors
  1. Beverly H. Brummett Ph.D.
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  2. Michael A. Babyak Ph.D.
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  3. Daniel B. Mark M.D., M.P.H.
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  4. Nancy E. Clapp-Channing R.N., M.P.H.
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  5. Ilene C. Siegler Ph.D., M.P.H.
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  6. John C. Barefoot Ph.D.
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Additional information

This research was supported in part by Grants P01 HL36587, R01 HL45702, and R01 HL54780 from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute: Grant R01 AG12458 from the National Institute on Aging; and Grants T32 MH19109 and R05 MH70482 from the National Institute of Mental Health

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Brummett, B.H., Babyak, M.A., Mark, D.B. et al. Prospective Study of Perceived Stress in Cardiac Patients. ann. behav. med. 27, 22–30 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1207/s15324796abm2701_4

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