Clinical Psychology, Vol. 1 No. 1-2, 2008.
Review article
Protective and risk personality traits for the development and progression of the coronary heart disease
Iva Žegura
; Vrapče psychiatric clinic, Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
hysical health show that there is obvious interaction between physical and psychological; psychical processes and behavior may reflect on bodily functions, and physical states can reflect on the way of thinking and behavior of each person. Attemptions for identification psychological risk factors are showing that there are some specific emotional states that are enhancing development of coronary heart
disease. Risk group includes persons who are prone to chronic negative affect states and persons with coronary heart disease risk personality traits. Growing interest of health psychology is focused on the field of investigation of psychoneuroimunology and investigation of the mechanisms in witch psychological factors are related to the immunological changes, behaviors connected to the health and health outcomes or to the development of the disease. Stress is causing different hemodynamic, endocrine and immunological changes that are enhancing development of the coronary heart disease.
Efficient defining of psychosocial protective and risk factors lies in biopsychological approach to the patient, so collaboration between doctors and psychologists is necessary, not only in the process of rehabilitation after coronary incident, but also in prevention of the coronary heart disease. Recent findings and research may contribute
to the practical work in the field of primary prevention, to the work with persons who have risk factor for developing coronary heart disease and during the tertiary prevention procedure in patient rehabilitation. During therapeutic and rehabilitational work with patients it is of primary interest to be focused on individual differences in the level of positive and negative affect factors that lay in the development and progression of the coronary heart disease.
Keywords
distres; D- type personality; risk factors; coronary heart disease; negative affect; positive affect; protective factors; health psychology
Hrčak ID:
158296
URI
Publication date:
15.12.2008.
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