"MENTAL STRAIN, MORE IMPORTANT THAN STRESSFUL LIFE EVENTS IN MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION"

Abstract

Stressful life events may play an important role in coronary heart disease and sudden cardiac death. This study was performed to compare the frequency of stressful events and mental strain in patients with acute myocardial infarction (MI) and normal population. A case-control study was performed on 50 survivors of MI and 50 controls with no evidence of cardiovascular disease, matched by age, gender, education, race, and number of family members. A questionnaire was used to determine the number of stressful life events. Mental strain was measured by two different scoring methods: selfestimated mental strain, and inferred mental strain. Patients with MI had more stressful life events in contrast to controls but this was not statistically significant (p = 0.08). Self- estimated and inferred mental strain during the two preceding years were significantly greater in patients with MI (p<0.01, p<0.05, respectively). We conclude that emotional strain due to a stressful life event may complicate coronary heart disease and thus result in MI.