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Investigators
Dr Barbara Murphy, Dr Marian Worcester, Ms Michelle Rogerson, Dr Peter Elliott, Ms Rosemary Higgins, Heart Research Centre.
Background
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death
in women, both in Australia and elsewhere. Mortality and morbidity
outcomes from heart attack and coronary artery bypass graft surgery are
generally poorer in women than in men, with higher death rates, more recurrent
episodes and more frequent readmissions to hospital. Despite this pattern,
there has been a lack of focused research into outcomes of acute cardiac events
in women. In most studies, males predominate because they represent between
70-80% of cardiac admissions. Because of the smaller number of women in
studies, it has been difficult to draw meaningful conclusions about the
processes and patterns of their recovery.
We are currently conducting a long-term study of 241
women who were originally studied 12 years ago by the same team of researchers.
The baseline study was supported by a grant from the Commonwealth Department of
Health and Ageing under the National Health Goals and Targets Program for
improving cardiovascular health. The original study was longitudinal, involving
four assessments over a 12 month period.
On each occasion comprehensive interviews were carried out and
self-report questionnaires were administered to the women who were recruited
from the Royal Melbourne Hospital, MelbournePrivate Hospital and Western Hospital.
Aim
The primary objective of this new project is to
investigate the relationship between baseline psychosocial factors (anxiety,
depression and social isolation) and 12 year mortality in a consecutive series
of female patients after heart attack or coronary artery bypass graft surgery.
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