Thinking style and nature of stress experience in patients with coronary artery disease

Aim . To analyze the cognitive status (thinking style and nature of stress experience) in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) who underwent myocardial revascularization. Material and methods . The study involved 150 patients with the average age of 54 years. The study sample included three following groups of respondents: patients with CAD who underwent myocardial revascularization 1,5 months before the study (n=50); patients with cerebral ischemia (n=50); conditionally healthy respondents who underwent routine medical examination (n=50). The following were used: the Cognitive Mistakes Questionnaire by A. Freeman, R. DeWolf (in the Russian adaptation by A.E. Bobrov, E.V. Fayzrakhmanova); the Questionnaire of Styles of Explanation of Successes and Failures by T.O. Gordeeva, O.A. Sychev, E.N. Osin, V.A. Titova Gransham; the Brief Resilience Scale by B. Smith, et al. (in the Russian adaptation by V.I. Markova, L.A. Alexandrova, A.A. Zolotareva); the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory by C. D. Spielberger (in the Russian adaptation by Yu.L. Khanin). To assess the significance of differences in cognitive status and the nature of stress experience between the above-mentioned groups, Student's t-test (t) was used. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS Statistics ver. 27.0.1. Results . Patients with CAD who underwent myocardial revascularization differ from conditionally healthy patients who underwent routine medical examination, in higher expression of following cognitive status indicators: "catastrophizing" (t=-6,718 at p<0,01), "stability of failures" (t=-3,092 at p<0,01), high expression of personal anxiety (t=-5,238 at p<0,01) and low expression of resilience (t=3,163 at p<0,01). In addition, CAD patients differ from patients with cerebral ischemia in higher expression of the cognitive status parameter "exaggeration of danger" (t=-6,292 at p<0,01). Conclusion . In patients with CAD, the indicators of cognitive status and ability to recover after revascularization may indicate chronic traumatization caused by disease and surgery as the trigger event. The data obtained may be important for the development of prevention and rehabilitation programs.