Patients' understanding and opinion about informed consent for coronary angiography in a rural Japanese hospital.

Based on an anonymous questionnaire obtained from 102 Japanese in-patients at a rural Japanese hospital who underwent coronary angiography, the patients understanding of information about the procedure, their perception of consent and their attitude toward it were investigated. The patients were able to recall 63.8% of the contents of the information. There was a statistically significant correlation between the patients' educational status and the recall test score of the information. Older (65 years old and above) patients had a tendency to entrust decision making to their physicians. Only 19.6% of the patients made the decision to undergo a coronary angiography by themselves. After being informed of the risks 40.2% of the patients felt more anxious. In conclusion, our patients could not recall the contents of the information sufficiently. There still existed a tendency to entrust important decisions to the physician especially in older patients. The patients had a tendency not to face difficult problems solely by themselves but with the support of family members.