Psychosemantics of Pain in Patients With Coronary Artery Disease

Abstract

Introduction

It is known for a fact that a number of psychological factors may affect heart pain perception in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). However, psychosemantics of pain in CAD patients was hardly ever explored.

Objective

To study the features of pain psychosemantics in CAD patients.

Methods

There were applied McGill Pain Questionnaire (Melzack, 1975); the psychosemantic technique “Classification of sensations” (Tkhostov, Efremova, 1989); the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (Bagby, Taylor, Parker, 1994); and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (Spielberger et al., 1983). Fifty-four CAD patients took part in the study, the mean age was 55.9 ± 7.6 years. CAD duration was 5.8 ± 2.6 years.

Results

CAD patients with the high level of trait anxiety (28%) choose greater variety of descriptors for pain definition, revealing an impaired ability to differentiate between emotional states and physical sensations. They show higher scale values for McGill Pain Questionnaire. Patients with high indices of alexithymia (31%) require significantly fewer words for description of painful and dangerous perceptions within the “Classification of sensations”. This may testify to a certain bafflement in verbal description of the pain. With that, intensity of alexithymia does not correlate significantly with the high level of state and trait anxiety (P > 0.05). The method of “Classification of sensations” revealed that patients with trait anxiety, as well as those with alexithymia, define the pain with significantly more numerous metaphorical and affective descriptors (Pervichko, Zinchenko, 2013).

Conclusions

Received results prove an important role of psychological factors in etiology of chest pain in CAD patients with the high level of trait anxiety and alexithymia, which supports the urgency of psychotherapy for them.

References not available.

Disclosure of interest

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.