Stress appraisal for patients after heart operation

doi:10.3321/j.issn:1673-8225.2004.33.004

Abstract：BACKGROUND: During the early recovery period after heart operation,patients are usually in a stressful situation and cannot successfully maintain good physical and mental health. Evaluating the stress source is helpful for patients to cope with his /her stress effectively in order to promote their postoperative recovery.OBJECTIVE: To investigate the stress and analyze the stressful level of patients after heart operation.DESIGN: An investigating study.SETTING: Surgery Department of the First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University.PARTICIPANTS: The subjects were totally the 66 patients with cardiac valve replacement operation in the second day after transferring from ICU to the general ward of the Department of Cardiac Surgery of the First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University during November 1999 to March 2000. Of them, 64 patients participated in this experiment, 34 men and 30 women, voluntarily.INTERVENTIONS: The theoretical frame was the stress patterns by Lazarus and Folkman. The measurement means was established on the basis of psychological stress measurement method by Carr, Power and Connelly. The investigation and evaluation of stress source of the 64 patients with heart operation were carried out with the method of questionnaire.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Stress source and stress level of the patients after heart operation.were on the median level(2.59 ± 0.70). The mean appraisal value of stress source relating to disease(2.71 ±0. 71) was higher than that relating to hospital environment(2.28 ± 0.76), and both of them were on the median discomfort" was 100%, and the stress evaluation value of "uncertain operaenvironment, occurrence of "sharing room with others" was 75%, and the stress evaluation value of "depending on others" was (3.24 ± 0. 87).CONCLUSION: In the stress source relating to disease, the most common one is"pain or discomfort"; However, the stress source with the highest stress is "uncertain operation result" . In the stress source relating to hospital environment, the most common one is "sharing room with others"; However,the stress source with the highest stress is"depending on others". All of them are on the moderate level.