Illness Perceptions in Patients with Coronary Heart Disease and Their Doctors

AbstractThe research is devoted to comparative analysis of the illness perceptions in patients with coronary heart disease and their doctors. The research is based on the concept of the internal picture of the disease (A. Tkhostov & G. Arina, 1990). This concept allows explaining how a bodily sensation turns into a symptom receiving definition through a system of social and cultural representations about the given disease. Patients with chronic disease underestimate a number of important, alarming sensations, requiring attention and consultation of a doctor