Assessment of the level of stress and coping strategies among patients with coronary artery disease

Abstract

Background: Stress evolves out of life events and experiences, stimulates one's thinking process and helps to maintain a basal level of autonomic arousal. Stress and certain behaviors like aggressiveness striving for achievement contribute to the pathogenesis of Coronary Artery Disease (CAD). Presence of psychosocial stressors is associated with increased risk of acute myocardial infarction. Coping processes are usually involved to reduce stress levels. Objectives: The study was conducted to assess the stress level and coping strategies among the CAD patients. Materials and Methods: Non experimental research design was chosen. The patients with CAD admitted for the first time were taken as the samples. A total of 100 patients were selected by non-probability sampling methods. The standardized tool used for the study consisted of stress and coping scale. The questionnaire consisted of 20 questions to assess stress and 20 questions to assess coping. The maximum score indicated increased stress and adequate coping and the minimum score indicated less stress and inadequate coping. Results: In this study 43% of the patients were having moderate stress and 91% of patients showed moderate coping. None had increased stress and only 5% of the patients had adequate coping strategy. Conclusions : This study demonstrated an approach to develop more coping strategies to reduce stress among the CAD patients. Nurses working in the Cardiology Department should engage themselves to address the psychosocial needs of those patients and take measures to plan coping strategies.