Patients with coronary artery disease adopted an accepting, progressive life course or a non-accepting, regressive life course
QUESTION: How do patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) experience their life course in the year after surgery?
Design
Phenomenology.
Setting
Oulu, Finland.
Patients
10 women and 9 men who had severe CAD and had been treated with either coronary artery bypass grafting or percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty.
Methods
Individual interviews of 90–120 minutes were conducted 1 year after treatment and addressed the course of treatment and patients' everyday experiences. Analysis proceeded according to Giorgi's method.
Main findings
2 types of general life course narratives were revealed: an accepting, progressive life course and a non-accepting, regressive life course, which differed in terms of the life situation, meaning of illness, and attitudes toward everyday life, work, family, and the future.
Patients who had an accepting, progressive life course were mostly older and living on an old age or disability pension after the onset of CAD. They were relieved to have a conclusive diagnosis of CAD, were content with the outcome of treatment, and had not had recurrent symptoms. These patients saw CAD as an …
