Psychological and social factors of adherence to treatment in patients with myocardial infarction

Aim. The aim of the study was to assess the impact of psychological and social factors on adherence to treatment in patients with primary and repeated myocardial infarction (MI). Materials and methods. Patients with primary (n=61) and repeated (n=72) ST-segment elevation MI were enrolled in the study. State and trait anxiety, accentuation of personality traits, patient awareness, and adherence to treatment, represented by adherence rate to treatment were evaluated. Results and discussion. There were no statistically significant differences found in adherence to treatment between the study groups. Patients’ adherence to treatment in the whole cohort was low positive. Patients with primary MI demonstrated higher state anxiety than patients with repeated MI (p=0.0173). The following accentuation of personality traits were determined: hypertimity, emotivity, anxiety, dysthymia and cyclothymic. They were comparable in their severity in primary and repeated MI patients. The regression analysis revealed that the higher the level of education, the higher (by 0.40 scores) adherence rate to treatment (p=0.0210). Higher patients’ awareness resulted in increased adherence rate by 0.54 scores (p=0.0010). Conclusion. The main factors contributing to increased adherence rate in patients with MI were the level of education and awareness on the issues of preventing an unfavorable cardiovascular prognosis.