Variables Affecting the Reporting of Pain Following an Acute Myocardial Infarction
Abstract
The presence of unreported chest pain (CP) in patients with an acute myocardial infarction (AMI) has received only anecdotal mention in the literature, with the exception of one small study. Unreported CP is of concern because it is essential that the health care provider be aware of the patient's symptoms of myocardial ischemia so that aggressive interventions can be utilized to help limit infarct size. Therefore, the following research questions were addressed: (a) Do patients diagnosed with an AMI report all instances of perceived pain? (b) What factors influence patients diagnosed with an AMI to report, or not to report, the pain? and (c) What is the process that culminates in an AMI patient's decision to report, or not report, pain? An exploratory design utilizing qualitative methodology was employed, with a purposeful sample of seven informants. Eight semistructured interviews were audiotaped (one informant was reinterviewed), transcribed in their entirety, and analyzed using the constant comparative method and content analysis. The data which emerged supported the existence of unreported CP and represented a process of decision- making under conditions of uncertainty, in response to the symptoms associated with an AMI. This decision-making process occurred prior to hospitalization, and again when the symptoms recurred during hospitalization.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 01, 1991
- Accession Number
- ADA239275
Entities
People
- Judith M. Schwartz
Organizations
- Air Force Institute of Technology