The evidence that depression affects the quality of recovery and prognosis of coronary events is growing and depression is a powerful independent predictor of mortality and morbidity. Therefore, decreasing the risk for depression should be addressed as a key issue for the survivors of acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Information that contributes to an understanding of why some survivors seem to have more depressive symptoms than others and the kind of intervention that might be effective for post coronary depression is especially crucial for health care providers. Prescribing antidepressants appears to be the most frequent intervention for coronary patients who suffer from depression. However, this cohort study with 100 post-ACS patients (51 males, 49 females) found that antidepressants for those who showed depressive symptoms were not effective in decreasing those symptoms. Forty five percent of the study participants indicated depressive symptoms ranging from mild to severe depression at Time 1 (prior to discharge) and still had them one month after hospital discharge (Time 2). Understanding how patients with ACS have a sense of coherence (SOC), including comprehensibility, meaningfulness, and manageability of their illness may provide a critical way to explain the individual variations in experiencing depression seen among survivors. Thus, this study examined the concept of SOC and its relationship to depression. A longitudinal design was used to test changes in SOC and depression over one month post hospitalization. Key variables in this study are derived from the Transactional Model of Stress and Coping (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984) and the Theory of Sense of Coherence (Antonovsky, 1979). These two theories provide a framework that emphasizes cognitive functions in mediating the significance of perceived threat from the life-threatening experience with ACS. Study results are very significant and the findings produce new knowledge about ACS and depression, paving the way for innovative interventions to promote psychological health and coping after an ACS.
Session #1223 - Graduate Student Poster Session
The 29th Annual MNRS Research Conference (April 1-4, 2005)