“Shortly Afterwards I Was Practically Dead”—Temporal Experiences of Middle-Aged Individuals With Heart Disease: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis

Changes in the experience of time have originally been described in mental disorders within the framework of the phenomenological psychopathology of the lived time. Both phenomenological and qualitative empirical studies have shown that physical illnesses, such as cancer or chronic pain, can be accompanied by a change in experienced temporality. Likewise, the sudden onset of severe heart disease in early and middle age represents a biographical break for the patient and can lead to numerous changes in the experience of time. In our qualitative study, a purposive sample of sixteen patients aged 30-59 years was included. Of these, four patients had sudden cardiac arrest, seven had myocardial infarction, and five had other severe cardiac diseases. Phenomenological semi-structured interviews were conducted and analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Patients reported that their temporality changed after serious heart disease. The experience of the participants can be summarized in five themes: "Heart disease as a biographical turning point," "The clock can stop any moment," "Feeling prematurely aged by heart disease," "Other people's time is not my time," and "Just living in the moment." From a psychocardiological perspective, a temporal analysis of severe heart disease can help caregivers understand and support patients better. Further studies should be conducted on cardiac patients with a lower disease burden, sex-specific issues, and young cardiac patients with congenital heart disease.