Caregiving burden and perceived stress in family caregivers of cardiac patients

BACKGROUND: Cardiac diseases often require prolonged caregiving, imposing substantial burden and stress on family caregivers. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to assess caregiving burden and perceived stress among family caregivers of cardiac patients and to examine their associations with demographic and care-related factors. METHODS: This cross-sectional study included 259 caregivers of cardiac patients (aged ≥ 18 years, ≥ 6 months of caregiving) at the emergency department of Ayatollah Mousavi Hospital, Zanjan, Iran, in 2024. Data were collected using a demographic questionnaire, the Caregiver Burden Inventory (CBI), and Cohen's Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). Data were analyzed using t-tests, ANOVA, and Pearson correlation in SPSS version 16 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA). RESULTS: The mean total CBI score was 77.32 ± 16.16 (range: 35-94), and the mean PSS score was 31.57 ± 8.88 (range: 17-53). The highest burden was observed in the social (18.86 ± 3.28) and developmental (16.14 ± 5.10) subscales. Pearson correlation showed a statistically significant negative association between total CBI and PSS (r = - 0.745, p < 0.001). Significant differences in CBI and PSS were observed across caregiver characteristics, including gender, residence, living arrangement, education, economic status, government support, patient relationship, caregiving duration, and availability of substitutes (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Family caregivers of cardiac patients in emergency settings experience substantial caregiving burden and perceived stress, with a statistically significant negative association between these factors. Nurses can mitigate caregiver burden by providing timely education, emotional support, and tailored resources for high-risk caregivers, including including women, lower socioeconomic groups, and intensive caregivers.