Abstract

Introduction: Heart disease is a general term that refers to a number of acute and chronic pathological conditions that affect one or more parts of the heart. Heart disease can be acute or chronic.

Purpose: The purpose of this review is to highlight the effects of phobias on patients with cardiac problems.

Material & methods: An extensive review of the relevant literature was performed via electronic International and Greek databases (Medline, Pubmed, Cihnal, Google scholar, Iatrotek) and the Association of Hellenic Academic Libraries (HEAL-Link). The exclusion criterion for the articles was the language other than Greek and English.

Results: Phobias are a very common phenomenon. Many people have suffered from them sometime in their lives. There are many situations in life that can be dangerous. Most patients in a cardiac clinic and especially in a myocardial infarction unit are afraid that their future lives will no longer be the same. The severity of each individual's situation depends on the nature of stressors' characteristics, namely, its importance for the individual, the duration of the stressor, its cumulative effect, dealing with many different stressors simultaneously by the same individual, as well as the immediacy of response to it, based on the available personal and social resources.

Conclusion: Cardiac disease and its consequent problems should be investigated in every cardiac patient, as well as the supportive potential of his environment. Patients' needs as well as patient’s personality mechanisms with whom they try to manage their problems and phobias should always be examined.