Assessment of post traumatic stress levels among patients with myocardial infarction at tertiary care center of Andhra Pradesh

Objectives: • To assess the post traumatic stress levels among patients with myocardial infarction. • To find out the association between post traumatic stress levels with the socio demographic variables. Material and methods: The present study was a Cross-sectional descriptive research design with a non-probability convenient sampling technique was used which 168 patients who are diagnosed as myocardial infarction at cardiology OPD, SVIMS, Tirupati. Data was collected by using demographic variables and PTSD scale (Edna B.Foa,2013) and data was analyzed by using mean, standard deviation, chi-square test. Results: The study findings revealed that 23.2% of patients are suffering with mild post traumatic stress, 71.4% were having moderate stress and 5.4% were having severe post traumatic stress. The mean and standard deviation shows that post traumatic stress levels was 1.82 ± 0.505. Conclusion: The study findings concluded that 71.4% of Myocardial Infarction patients were having moderate stress levels. Patients developed a positive attitude towards stress coping strategies by instructional booklet. There is precising need for public awareness programs that define PTSD among MI patients in a simplified and understandable language and explain coping strategies to overcome PTSD and to minimize further complications.