Illness Perception, Treatment Adherence and Coping in Persons with Coronary Artery Disease Undergoing Angioplasty

ABSTRACT Background and Objective: Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the leading cause of sudden death. In this article, we compared patients’ illness perception (IP), treatment adherence and coping mechanisms of patients undergoing percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA). Methods: In this descriptive, prospective observational study IP, treatment adherence and coping of 140 patients were evaluated pre-PTCA, at the time of hospital discharge and 1 to 3 months post-PTCA by Illness Perception Questionnaire, Morisky Treatment Adherence and Carver’s brief COPE questionnaires. Results: 1 - 3 months post-PTCA, all dimensions of IP changed significantly except personal and treatment control. Adherence scores decreased simultaneously. With respect to coping mechanisms, all increased except behavioral disengagement, emotional support, instrumental support and religion which decreased significantly post-PTCA. Conclusions: In Overall, an improved IP and increased use of controllable causal attributions led to an increase in medication adherence and adaptive coping strategies. Post-treatment health behaviors are predictable by assessing patients’ illness-related beliefs beforehan