Psychovegetative relations and clinical course of ischemic heartdisease in females and males

Abstract

Aim. To study psychovegetative correlations and clinical course of ischemic heart disease (IHD) in men and women. Material and methods. Personality characteristics (MMPI test), reactive and personal anxiety (Spilberger's questionnaire), severity of depression (Back's questionnaire), vegetative status (vegetative disorders questionnaire), variability of cardiac rhythm (cardiovascular tests) were studied in 60 females and 62 males with IHD. Results. IHD females vs males were characterized by higher neurotization, personal accentuation, more serious anxiety, depression and vegetative disturbances, lower variability of heart rate. IHD in females is more frequent in postmenopause, is characterized by less severe hemodynamically significant coronary stenoses. Conclusion. Emotional disorders make a great contribution to a course of ischemic heart disease.

Keywords

• ischemic heart disease
• females
• males
• anxiety
• variability of cardiac rhythm