Change in positive affect during outpatient cardiac rehabilitation predicts vital exhaustion in patients with coronary heart disease.
Vital exhaustion is an acknowledged psychosocial risk factor of incident coronary heart disease (CHD) and recurrent CHD events. Little is known about trajectories in vital exhaustion in patients with CHD and the factors predicting this change. We hypothesized that vital exhaustion would decrease during outpatient cardiac rehabilitation and that an increase in positive affect over time would be associated with decreased vital exhaustion at discharge from cardiac rehabilitation. We also explored the role of the patient's sex in this context. Vital exhaustion was reduced during outpatient cardiac rehabilitation, especially in patients who experienced an increase in positive affect over time (p < .001). This relationship was significant in men (p < .001) but not in women (p = .11).
a Inselspital, Bern University Hospital.
Stefanie
S
Stauber
Jean-Paul
JP
Schmid
Hugo
H
Saner
Hansjörg
H
Znoj
Gaby
G
Saner
Johannes
J
Grolimund
Roland
R
von Känel
D000339:Affect; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology* / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D005221:Fatigue / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010045:Outpatients / Q000523:psychology; D012737:Sex Factors