Recovery from an Acute Myocardial Infarction A Longitudinal Study of Couples

Sammanfattning: The overall aim of this thesis was to investigate recovery in the relationshipbetween couples following an acute myocardial infarction [AMI]. An additionalaim was to compare differences over time regarding hope and health?relatedquality of life [HRQoL] for both patient and partner. The thesis is based on fourempirical studies (I?IV), and has a longitudinal design employing both qualitativeand quantitative methods. A purposive sample was recruited comprising 15couples in which one partner had been diagnosed with an AMI. Study I wascarried out as individual tape?recorded interviews aimed at describing thepatient´s and their partner´s experiences after hospital discharge. Study II alsoused individual tape?recorded interviews, this time with the aim of describing andinterpreting the couple´s thoughts and expectations about their future life after thepatients’ discharge. Study III used the HHI?S and SF?36 measures to comparechanges over time in self?rated hope and health?related quality of life, anddifferences between patients’ ratings and their partner´s. Study IV used repeatedindividual tape?recorded interviews with the aim of interpreting the couples´narratives about their relationship and daily life. The data were analysed andinterpreted using a number of qualitative content analysis methods (I, II, IV) anddescriptive and comparative statistics (III).Overall, the couples´ recovery from an AMI in the two years after an AMI consisted of a striving to reach some kind of balance and stability in their currentlife situation. The period after discharge from the hospital involved understandingthe importance of the home as a place in which one feels at home and which bringsa feeling of safety, experiencing the phenomenon of security and being at homewithin oneself, and seeking normalisation in returning to an ordinary life (I). Thecouples´ thoughts about their future lives were either optimistic, taking an activeapproach, or pessimistic, taking a wait?and?see approach. The couples could bedivided into four positions in terms of their visions of the future: life companions,who were in concordance regarding their future; tightrope walkers, who had incommon a need to reprioritise what they considered important in their future;pathfinders, who had in common an undefined vision of their future and observers, who saw their future including both physical as well as sociallimitations (II). Self?rated hope and HRQoL both improved over time, but few ofthese improvements were statistically significant, and I found no statistically groupeffects. Estimation of the MDC index revealed that neither HHI?S nor SF?36measures stable traits (III). Finally, the repeated interviews revealed how thecouples viewed their daily life, mutual relationships and roles in their relationshipVIIover time. There was an abundant variation in a number of the couples´ storiesabout their relationship and daily life during the recovery period (IV).In conclusion, it is clear that what happen to one party in a relationship influencesthe other party. The couples in the studies showed improvements in both hope andhealth?related quality of life over time. The HHI?S and SF?36 measures seemed tobe sensitive to and affected by the current situation. Going through an AMI is alife?changing event that makes it necessary for the couple to make adjustments andadapt to their new situation. Different couples have different approaches tohandling this situation; no two couples are the same, and every couple willperceive and deal with the AMI differently. An AMI starts a process of transition,and over time a couple affected by AMI will undergo external as well as internal changes.