Stress level and ways of coping with stress in a group of patients with unstable coronary heart disease

Abstract

Introduction. Cardiovascular diseases still remain at the forefront of society's most important health problem and are one of the leading causes of death.

Purpose of research. The aim of this study is to assess the degree of coping with stress in a group of patients treated for unstable angina.

Material and methods. The research was conducted on 01.09.2019 - 01.03.2020. The size of the study group was 100 people, 45% of whom were women, 55% were men. People with diagnosed unstable angina took part in the study. The following research tools were used in this work to gather the necessary information: • Self-study report - contains 12 questions in the area of sociodemographic information, current disease and available support. • Mini-COPE - Inventory for Measuring Coping With Stress. • PSS-10 - Perceived Stress Scale. The above research tools made it possible to collect information on the sociodemographic data of the respondents, the degree of coping with stress and the scale of perceived stress.

Conclusions. Younger people more often than older people focused on actively coping with stress. People in relationships coped with stress to a greater extent than single people and focused on development. Patients who remain professionally active cope better with a stressful situation than those on disability or retirement. People after surgical procedures were more planning-oriented than those treated with pharmacological treatment. The support of family and friends has a positive effect on coping with stress in patients with unstable angina.