Psychosomatic Medicine 18:221-233 (1956)
© 1956 American Psychosomatic Society

Psychological Aspects of Cardiac Disease

A Study of Patients Experiencing Mitral Commissurotomy

¹ Department of Psychiatry, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, and from the Psychosomatic Service of the Cincinnati General Hospital, Cincinnati, Ohio

A follow-up study of 18 patients who had experienced mitral commissurotomy was conducted to observe the ways in which these people would respond to an improved state of cardiac health. It was felt that this would provide further understanding of the emotional problems of persons with heart disease and, in addition, furnish information concerning the responses of patients to this relatively new and increasingly common surgical procedure.

The findings indicate that the emotional implications of cardiac disease vary and mainly depend upon the personality structure and life situations of the individual patient.

The advent of cardiac disease can seriously disrupt a patient's psychological adaptive mechanisms. Surgical relief of symptoms affords the opportunity to reestablish the presickness means of adjustment.

Other patients utilize heart disease for psychologically adaptive purposes. While the alleviation of the disease to some extent reduced their anxiety about their physical health, they are then faced with anxiety-laden problems which they had previously been able to avoid because of their heart ailments. The psychological and physiological disturbances that resulted are described.

Other data pertinent to the patients' reactions to their disease and their operation arc presented.

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