The experience of heart disease in a partner resulted in a closer relationship for most couples.

摘要

Qualitative research on the effects of heart disease has made important contributions to clinicians' understanding of patient and family responses to acute events and the changes that result. The study by Mahre'r-lmhof ef at adds an additional dimension to our knowledge by articulating the patterns used by couples to attach meaning to illness and interpret its significance- both good and bad-for their lives. This application of phenomenoiogical study to the couple as a unit is unusual. The study provides a novel lens through which we can assess both the aftermath of a diagnosis of heart disease and its treatment and the ways In which" couples accept or overlook, and then manage, opportunities for change.Applying fhe findings to couples in which the patient is a woman is not appropriate because most patients with heart disease in this study were men. In addition,- the patients had attended .a cardiac rehabilitation programme, a factor that may have influenced their knowledge and insight. A noteworthy aspect of the findings is that the couples' assessment and interpretation of cardiac disease went beyond ihe individual meanings that might be ascribed by each of the partners. Patterns of relating to one another-and strategies of joint problem solving seem to augment and extend individual coping. Health professionals can help to optimise patient outcomes by focusing on the couple and melding their Individual and relational needs in-the context of cardiac rehabilitation.These findings underscore the need for nurses to view cardiac illness, as opposed to .disease, as a socially constructed experience in which change and adaptation are complex processes that require astute assessment and support.