Hutton, GK;
(2013)
Social support, marriage and psychobiological pathways to adjustment after Acute Coronary Syndrome.
Doctoral thesis , UCL (University College London).
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Abstract
The key aims of this thesis were to investigate the role of social support and marriage in adjustment and recovery in coronary heart disease (CHD). Declining death rates in CHD due to medical and surgical advances combined with increasing prevalence rates have contributed to a large and steadily growing population of chronic CHD patients, many of whom have suffered an acute cardiac event. In the context of this population, there is considerable need to determine factors that improve both adjustment and prognosis. Aspects of social support and marriage have been robustly associated with morbidity and mortality in CHD. Exploration of the potential psychological and biological pathways that link these factors forms the core of this thesis. Data from two separate studies are presented with the majority of analyses originating from data gathered in the Tracking Recovery after Acute Coronary Events (TRACE) study, a longitudinal study exploring diverse correlates of adjustment and recovery in 298 ACS patients. Associations between social support, marital satisfaction, distress, quality of life and HRV among ACS patients followed up from hospital admission to 12 months following discharge are presented. Data were also derived from a second study which explored psychobiological factors in a sample of 88 suspected coronary artery disease (CAD) patients and the analysis focused on marital influence on HRV. The overall thesis objective was to identify significant relationships between social and marital support, and various psychobiological factors that may contribute to adjustment and, ultimately, influence CHD prognosis.
| Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Title: | Social support, marriage and psychobiological pathways to adjustment after Acute Coronary Syndrome |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| Language: | English |
| UCL classification: | UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Institute of Epidemiology and Health |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1389090 |
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