Depressive symptoms among patients of Myocardial Infarction

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the prevalence of depressive symptoms among pre-diagnosed patients of myocardial infarction at a tertiary care hospital in Hyderabad. Methodology: This observational, cross-sectional communal survey comprised of a sample of 100 patients chosen via simple random sampling from 1st December 2015 to 28th February 2016. Written informed consent was obtained before collecting data using interview based structured questionnaires. The data obtained was analyzed using SPSS v. 19.0 and Microsoft Excel 2013. Results: All the patients in the study belonged to an age group between 40 to 90 years. 69% of them being males and 31% females. 48% were uneducated while 52% were educated. 54% belonged to lower economic class, 43 were middle class and just 3% belonged to higher economic class. Mean depression score remained 16.12 for the patients with single heart attack whereas for the patients with repeated heart attacks the score was 19.62. 83% of the patients showed symptoms of anxiety. 51% were retarded in their speech and thought process, while 90% complained of difficulty in work. 62% complained of general aches, 54% had loss of appetite 38% had somatic complaints. 63% of the patients has health worries, 59% lost weight while 52% felt depressed. Conclusion: Study suggests that patients belonged to an age group of mostly 40 and onwards. Major number of patients belonged to male gender. A significant number of patients were un-educated. Patients with repeated attacks showed higher levels of depression. Majority of the patients showed symptoms of depression and complaints due to it.