Emotional response and clinical severity as early determinants of six-month mortality after myocardial infarction.

The literature relating psychic factors to pathogenesis, onset, and complication of acute myocardial infarction was selectively reviewed. A study which suggests that psychic factors affect six-month mortality rate after myocardial infarction was described. Specifically, patients showing a trend toward emotional adjustment early in their hospitalization had a far smaller mortality rate than those who did not show early adjustment trends. Severity of the heart attack, measured by the extent of complication, proved also to be predictive of six-month mortality. The findings were discussed with an emphasis on the acute-care staff's potential for changing patient behavior patterns, and hence, improving eventual patient mortality rates.