Women's experience of intimacy following their partner's first myocardial infarction reveals three common themes: perceived responsibility and limited life space; sense of life loss; and finding another dimension of life
- General Practice and Primary Health Care Academic Centre, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
- Correspondence to Kelsey L Hegarty
General Practice and Primary Health Care Academic Centre, University of Melbourne, 200 Berkeley Street, Carlton, VIC 3053, Australia; k.hegarty{at}unimelb.edu.au
Implications for practice and research
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■ Nurses need to pay attention to the well-being of partners of men who have myocardial infarcts.
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■ Nurses need to explore the effect of a myocardial infarction on the relationship dynamics for example, communication patterns and intimacy.
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■ Further research should quantify how relationships change post infarct, over and above the effect on sexual intimacy.
Context
Women play a significant role in recovery after a heart attack of their male partners.1 The effect on the couple's relationship has been explored …
