Vital exhaustion and anxiety are related to subjective quality of life in patients with acute myocardial infarct before cardiac rehabilitation

Aims and objectives To examine psychological risk factors and somatic factors in patients after myocardial infarction. To study the relationship between somatic and psychological factors, their influence on subjective quality of life (well‐being) and also to examine possible gender differences. Background There has been a growing body of evidence that psychosocial factors are risk factors for incident and recurrent myocardial infarction. Design Descriptive correlational and cross‐sectional survey design. Methods In patients (n = 97, 67 men), the level of depression and anxiety, vital exhaustion, sleep disturbances and well‐being were assessed. Left ventricular ejection fraction, left ventricular diastolic diameter, body mass index, metabolic equivalents and the number of diseased vessels were retrieved from medical records. Results Anxiety, vital exhaustion and sleep disturbances were significantly higher in women than in men. Well‐being showed a significant linear correlation with body mass index, anxiety, depression, vital exhaustion and sleep disturbances scores. After adjustment for psychological risk factors and somatic parameters, only vital exhaustion and anxiety correlated significantly with well‐being. However, there were gender differences in predictive variables of well‐being. Anxiety in men and vital exhaustion in women showed a linear correlation with the subjective quality of life. Conclusion Our study revealed that only vital exhaustion and anxiety showed a significant correlation with well‐being in patients. Relevance to clinical practice During cardiac rehabilitation, it is important to detect and treat not only depression but also vital exhaustion and anxiety, because by reducing these psychological conditions, we can improve well‐being.