Experience About Female Patients Suffering From Acute Myocardial Infarction

ObjectiveFrom the perspective of caring for women, this research is performed to reproduce theacute myocardial infarction in female patients with the psychological experiences byqualitative research methods, including the whole process of the onset of acute myocardialinfarction, subjective feelings and thoughts. We choose female patients with acutemyocardial infarction (AMI) for the first time as research objects, in order to avoid themedical implications on the female’s psychological experience, and to seek the mostoriginal and real thoughts and experience. This will provide a scientific basis for medicalstaff to improve the quality of medical and nursing care services.MethodsPhenomenological research methods in qualitative research are used in this study.18female patients suffering from AMI for the first time in a hospital are selected by purposivesampling. By using in-depth interview, we find out and record the psychologicalexperience of the female patients in the whole process from a heart attack to rehabilitation.These include the patients’ understanding, interpretation and processing of the disease. TheColaizzi analysis is used to collect and analyze the data.ResultsThe three refined topics are as follows.1Do I have something wrong?1.1Feel uncomfortable: The women subjectively feel different somewhere in theirbodies. The physical abnormal signals are called uncomfortable, referring to anyuncomfortable feeling in the body.10out of18patients suffer from prodromal symptoms.Symptoms: chest uncomfortable,5patients (27.8%); cold,4patients (22.2%); asthmatic,3patients (16.7%); shoulder pain,2patients (11.1%); headache,1patient (5.6%), and upperabdominal pain,1patient (5.6%).1.2Self-judge symptom: This means the speculations of patients under uncomfortable situations, including the organ where the pain occurs, whether to have body injury before,whether to have the same experience before, past medical history, and so on.1.3Try to solve the problems by themselves: The patients try to solve the conditionsin their own way after they feel uncomfortable, in order to reduce or relieve discomfort andto achieve the state of equilibrium. For female patients with prodromal symptoms,self-treatment can easily achieve remission effect. Indirectly, they have the ideas, such as"the symptoms will disappear","it should not be serious", and "it does not really matter".1.4Full of doubt about the disease: The female patients are still full of doubt aboutthe details of the disease after they self-judge and handle the discomfort. These doubtsinclude: what is causing the discomfort, when the symptoms will disappear, whether it willbecome more severe, whether it will re-occur after remission. Symptoms: restless, havingno idea what to do, angry, agonying, suspicious, and so on.1.5Seeking effective help: The patients are still unable to control the symptoms ordisease course after they handle own symptoms by themselves. In this situation, femalepatients will seek help actively or passively. They mostly turn to their relatives who livetogether or closer to receive diagnosis and treatment from medical institutions throughtheir help.1.6Not understand the disease: Patients are full of doubts on the interpretation ofdisease of the medical staff, and unable to internalize the disease. Therefore, they feelstrange and puzzling about disease.2I’m a patient!2.1Give up the right to decide: Female patients are forced to accept the decision madeby the family and medical staff after suffering from acute myocardial infarction and facingtheir inability to cope with the situation. As a result of the tradition, women have to followthe opinions of the family, and obey professional treatment from the medical institutions inthe process of disease. This makes female patientssubmissive and yield to the arrangementof their family and medical staff.2.2Self-explanation about the condition: Most female patients questioned theprofessional treatment of medical institutions, and have their own explanations about thedisease in their cognitive world.2.3Seeking a variety of treatment methods: In order to require early recovery ofhealth, not only do female patients obey the medical treatment and care, but also seekvarious resources actively to remove doubts. 3I am still myself!3.1Assessment of physical condition: Female patients want to understand the degreeof rehabilitation by monitoring their condition and testing the limits of the body, and thenadjust their life style.3.2Change life style: The female patients questioned the medical staff about theinterpretation of the disease. Therefore they want to integrate themselves into their owninterpretations, and lead a new life style accordingly.3.3Affirm self-worth: After the female patients return to the family and the societyafter rehabilitation, they try to play their original roles under the permission of their healthstatus, and try to recover the original role function to affirm their existence value.ConclusionsThe psychological experience of female patients suffering from AMI for the first timehas its specificity. Medical staff should observe how they know, explain and handle thesymptoms from the female patients’ point. The aim is to maintain the mutual understandingbetween doctors, nurses and female patients.