Life After Myocardial Infarction: A Qualitative Study on Experiences of Kurdish Patients Affected by Iran-Iraq War

Elahe Sepehrian; Maryam Pooralmasi; Alireza Abdi; Mojgan Rajati; Siamak Mohebi; Kamran Tavakol; Fatemeh Rajati

doi:10.2147/PROM.S265124

Life After Myocardial Infarction: A Qualitative Study on Experiences of Kurdish Patients Affected by Iran-Iraq War

Patient Relat Outcome Meas. 2020 Oct 15:11:209-219. doi: 10.2147/PROM.S265124. eCollection 2020.

Authors

Elahe Sepehrian¹, Maryam Pooralmasi¹, Alireza Abdi², Mojgan Rajati³, Siamak Mohebi⁴, Kamran Tavakol⁵, Fatemeh Rajati⁶

Affiliations

¹ Student Research Committee, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran.
² Critical Care and Emergency Department, Nursing and Midwifery School, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran.
³ Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Medicine, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran.
⁴ Department of Health Education and Health Promotion, Faculty of Public Health, Qom University of Medical Sciences, Qom, Iran.
⁵ School of Medicine, Howard University, Washington, DC, USA.
⁶ Research Center for Environmental Determinants of Health, Health Institute, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran.

Abstract

Background: Coronary artery disease (CAD) is a major cause of death globally. Myocardial infarction (MI) secondary to CAD affects patients' quality of life and their lifestyle. The experience of war can affect people's perception of phenomena. Given the scarcity of information in Kurdish patients with MI, the current study was designed to explore the lived experiences of individuals after MI in Kurdish patients affected by Iran-Iraq war.

Methods: This interpretive-phenomenological study was conducted on eleven patients with MI (9 men, 2 women) at Imam Ali Hospital, Center for Heart Diseases, in Kermanshah, Iran, considering MI as a phenomenon. Data was collected by a semi-structured interview and analyzed using the Van Mannen method. We employed the Lincoln and Guba criteria to examine the credibility, confirmability, dependability, and transferability of data. MAXQDA software was used for data management. We followed the COREQ checklist to ensure the rigor of our study.

Results: Four themes and ten sub-themes were emerged as (1) "changes in the quality of life" including (a) negative physical outcomes, (b) mental effects, (c) social support, (d) adopting healthy behaviors, (e) increase or decrease in self-efficiency, (f) previous experience, and (g) developing future behaviors; (2) "bodily perceptions and medical care" including (a) medical care: saving or terminating life?, (b) a new message from the heart; (3) "returning to spirituality against death" including (a) spirituality as a guiding principle, (b) accepting death as an eventual destiny; and (4) denial.

Conclusion: The results suggest that MI could change the quality of physical and mental health of the person, anywhere from deterioration to full recovery. Furthermore, the influence of spirituality and previous experience of war to overcome the complications of MI has been discussed, leading to either acceptance or denial of MI, and the consequences.

Keywords: myocardial infarction; phenomenology quality of life; qualitative research.

Grants and funding

The study was funded by Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences.