Positive Shifts in the Perceived Meaning of Cardiac Pain Following a Psychoeducation Program for Chronic Stable Angina

Abstract

This study examined the meaning of cardiac pain for chronic stable angina (CSA) patients who participated in a standardized angina psychoeducation program. The patients documented what angina meant to them at sessions 1 and 6 of a 6-week standardized psychoeducation program aimed at enhancing CSA self-management. At session 1, angina was described as a major negative life change characterized by fear, frustration, limitations, and anger. At session 6, angina signified a broad and ongoing pain problem requiring continual self-management in order to maximize quality of life. The findings suggest that the perceived meaning of angina as a burdensome and debilitating life change shifts, during psychoeducation, to one of angina as a broad pain problem requiring ongoing self-management in order to preserve life goals and functioning. How such perceptual shifts in the meaning of cardiac pain might contribute to the overall effectiveness of psychoeducation warrants further investigation.