Perceived discomfort and related coping phenomena in patients undergoing percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty

The aims of the study were to describe the perceived discomfort in relation to percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) in a group of 56 patients from a cardiac outpatient clinic and to investigate their coping strategies and styles, as measured by the Jalowiec Coping Scale (JCS) before and after PTCA, and their sense of coherence, as measured by the Sense of Coherence Scale (SOC). Thirty-eight patients (68%) experienced some sort of discomfort in the immediate postoperative phase after PTCA. The most unbearable discomfort was lower back pain. The most commonly used coping styles were the confrontational, the optimistic and the self-reliant. It is suggested that the three most commonly used styles, as given by the patients in the present study, could be used as a foundation for cognitive training in a nursing program for this group of patients.