[Emotional distress in elderly people with heart disease].

OBJECTIVES

To analyse the emotional distress associated with ageing, and its prevalence among elderly people who suffer from heart disease.

DESIGN

Personal interviews with elderly people with and without heart problems.

SETTING

Interviews were conducted in public hospitals and old people's homes in the south of Galicia, Spain.

PARTICIPANTS

The sample was made up of 130 elderly people (65 with heart problems and 65 without).

MAIN MEASUREMENTS: The Inventory of Coping Strategies, of Halroyd and Reynolk (1984); Scheir, Caver, and Bridges Test (1984); the Life Satisfaction Scale of Diener, Emmuns, Larsen, and Griffen (1985); Rosenberg's Self-Esteem Scale (1965); and an instrument to measure Associated Symptoms (SCL-90; Derogatis, 1975).

RESULTS

Elderly people with heart problems experienced greater anxiety and had lower self-esteem than those without such problems. Heart patients also tended to suffer more phobic anxiety and to retreat from social interaction more. With the passing of time, heart patients over 60 showed more anxiety, irritability and psychosomatic disorders.

CONCLUSIONS

This study clearly shows the existence of emotional distress in elderly heart patients. This makes it particularly important to conduct risk-prevention programmes, since a lot of heart disease is brought on by unhealthy conduct.