Forms of Emotional Health and Coping with Stress in People with Cardiovascular Diseases

Cardiovascular diseases, among the diseases of civilization, are the most common cause of death; every second person dies from them. The burden of a life-threatening illness undoubtedly promotes the development of emotional disorders. However, from a positive psychological perspective, psychological well-being can be a buffer to protect cardiac patients from falling into helplessness. Therefore, the author of the study takes up the problem of integration of subjective well-being with psychopathology, reduced to the level of anxiety, which can determine the form of emotional health. The aim of the conducted research was to determine the relationship between the forms of emotional health, determined by the level of life satisfaction and the level of anxiety, and the type of methods used to cope with stress. The study involved 100 people (50 women and 50 men) suffering from cardiovascular diseases who had undergone cardiac surgery. The age of the respondents ranged from 45 to 65 years. The variables were measured using the Life Satisfaction Scale (SWLS), State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) and the Coping Orientations to Problems Experienced (COPE). The results of the research indicate that the studied cardiologic patients show different forms of emotional health. In addition, in groups of people affected by cardiovascular diseases, different forms of emotional health are linked to ways of coping with stress.