IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/clnure/v20y2011i2p120-134.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Symptom Experience of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension Patients

Author

Listed:
  • Annette McDonough

    (University of Massachusetts, Lowell, ajm0928@yahoo.com)

  • Lea Ann Matura

    (Northeastern University, Boston, MA)

  • Diane L. Carroll

    (Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston)

Abstract

Purpose: To describe symptoms experienced by pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) patients and the impact these symptoms have had on their lives. Method: Qualitative descriptive methodology was chosen incorporating semistructured interviews to investigate the symptom experience of ten patients with PAH. Results: All patients were diagnosed with WHO Group 1 PAH and 70% were WHO functional Class III. Two overarching themes emerged: holding back and redefining life. Holding back was represented by three sub-themes: fear, anticipation of worsening symptoms, and treatment effects. Redefining life was characterized by uncertainty, activity restrictions, and making the best of it. Conclusion: This study revealed specific concerns related to the symptom experience of PAH patients and how they redefined their lives to accommodate these symptoms. These findings provide a basis for larger, quantitative studies to examine the extent of symptom impact as well as a framework for development of self management interventions to improve the symptom experience and QOL.

Suggested Citation

  • Annette McDonough & Lea Ann Matura & Diane L. Carroll, 2011. "Symptom Experience of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension Patients," Clinical Nursing Research, , vol. 20(2), pages 120-134, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:clnure:v:20:y:2011:i:2:p:120-134
    DOI: 10.1177/1054773810391249
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1054773810391249
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/1054773810391249?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:clnure:v:20:y:2011:i:2:p:120-134. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.