A Longitudinal Study of 21 Subjects with Coronary Heart Disease: Life Changes, Catecholamine Excretion and Related Biochemical Reactions

Abstract

Twenty-one male, well-rehabilitated survivors of myocardial infarction participated in repeated observations during a period of 2 to 4 months on the same weekdays and hours of the day. The sum of the self-reportedlifechange units for the week prior to the observation was independently calculated by a psychologist. It was found that several subjects had experienced numerous psychosocial changes during the observation period. Hence, the experiment was suitable for the study of intrasubject variability of physiologic parameters in relation to psychosocial stimuli.