title: Perceiving one's heart condition to be cured following hospitalization for acute coronary syndromes: Implications for patient-provider communication.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We examined the proportion of patients perceiving their heart condition to be cured following hospitalization for ACS and identified characteristics associated with these perceptions.
  
  
  METHODS
  We conducted a prospective cohort study of adults hospitalized with ACS (N=396). Patient interviews during hospitalization and one week post-discharge provided demographic and psychosocial characteristics. Medical records provided clinical characteristics. At one week, patients who rated "My heart condition is cured" as "definitely true" or "mostly true" were considered to perceive their heart condition cured.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Participants were aged 60.7 (SD:11.0) years, 26.5% female, and 89.0% non-Hispanic white; 16.7% had unstable angina, 59.6% NSTEMI, and 23.7% STEMI. One week post-discharge, 30.3% perceived their heart condition to be cured. Characteristics associated with cure perceptions were older age (OR=2.2; 95% CI: 1.2-4.0 for ≥65 years vs <55 years), male sex (OR=2.4; 95%CI: 1.3-4.2), history of hypertension (OR=1.8; 95%CI: 1.1-3.1), history of stroke (OR=4.2; 95%CI: 1.1-16.7), no history of CHD (OR=2.8; 95%CI: 1.6-4.9), and receipt of CABG during hospitalization (OR=4.8, 95%CI: 1.9-12.0 vs medical management).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  One week post-discharge, 3 in 10 patients perceived their heart condition to be cured.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Conversations with patients should frame ACS as a chronic disease and dispel cure perceptions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Quantitative Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts Medical School, 368 Plantation Street, Worcester, MA 01605, USA. Electronic address: molly.waring@umassmed.edu.
authors.forename: Molly E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Waring
authors.affiliation: Department of Quantitative Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts Medical School, 368 Plantation Street, Worcester, MA 01605, USA; Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, 55 Lake Avenue North, Worcester, MA 01605, USA; Meyers Primary Care Institute, 425 Lake Avenue North, Worcester, MA 01605, USA. Electronic address: david.mcmanus@umassmed.edu.
authors.forename: David D
authors.initials: DD
authors.lastname: McManus
authors.affiliation: Division of Preventive and Behavioral Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, 55 Lake Avenue North, Worcester, MA 01605, USA. Electronic address: stephenie.lemon@umassmed.edu.
authors.forename: Stephenie C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Lemon
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, 55 Lake Avenue North, Worcester, MA 01605, USA. Electronic address: joel.gore@umassmemorial.org.
authors.forename: Joel M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Gore
authors.affiliation: Department of Quantitative Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts Medical School, 368 Plantation Street, Worcester, MA 01605, USA; Evidera, 430 Bedford Street, Suite 300, Lexington Office Park, Lexington, MA 02420, USA. Electronic address: milena.anatchkova@umassmed.edu.
authors.forename: Milena D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Anatchkova
authors.affiliation: Department of Quantitative Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts Medical School, 368 Plantation Street, Worcester, MA 01605, USA. Electronic address: richard.mcmanus@umassmed.edu.
authors.forename: Richard H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: McManus
authors.affiliation: Department of Quantitative Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts Medical School, 368 Plantation Street, Worcester, MA 01605, USA. Electronic address: arlene.ash@umassmed.edu.
authors.forename: Arlene S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Ash
authors.affiliation: Department of Quantitative Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts Medical School, 368 Plantation Street, Worcester, MA 01605, USA. Electronic address: robert.goldberg@umassmed.edu.
authors.forename: Robert J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Goldberg
authors.affiliation: Department of Quantitative Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts Medical School, 368 Plantation Street, Worcester, MA 01605, USA. Electronic address: catarina.kiefe@umassmed.edu.
authors.forename: Catarina I
authors.initials: CI
authors.lastname: Kiefe
authors.affiliation: Department of Quantitative Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts Medical School, 368 Plantation Street, Worcester, MA 01605, USA; School of Pharmacy, Northeastern University, 360 Huntington Avenue, R218 TF, Boston, MA 02115, USA. Electronic address: j.saczynski@neu.edu.
authors.forename: Jane S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Saczynski
mesh_terms: D054058:Acute Coronary Syndrome / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001294:Attitude to Health; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D007297:Inpatients / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010465:Perception; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology
keywords: Acute coronary syndromes; Cure perceptions