Abstract

ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND:
Type A behavior has been related to coronary heart disease as an independent factor. Therefore, ischemic electrocardiographic (ECG) changes may be more prominent Type A than in Type B individuals .ECG abnormalities were assessed by the cardiac infarction injury score which has predictive power for sudden death(1)
OBJECTIVES:
(1) To find out the relationship between length and severity of ischemia in Holter monitoring of myocardial ischemia during daily life and personality (type A and type B) through a study of a sample of patients during a stressful time.
(2)To compare between personality ( type A and type B ) in the findings of Holter monitoring.
METHOD:
Holter ECG was carried out on 80 patients suffering from an ischemic heart disease referred consecutively to the Holter ECG out patient clinic in Al-Kadhmiya Teaching Hospital .
Wail's scale was employed on the patients to know the type of personality.
RESULT:
The results of the study show that there is a significant difference between patients with (personality type A and those with type B) in episodes of painful ischemia but there is no significant difference in terms of severity and length of ischemia between personality types.
DISCUSSION:
Mental stress –induced ischemia had longer total duration and more frequent episodes of ambulatory ischemia episodes(2,3).The study showed that more than half patients were considered Type A .Painful episodes of myocardial ischemia occurred more frequently in Type A patients during a stressful period of ambulatory Holter monitoring compared with Type B.
CONCLUSION:
This study showed that during daily life period that type A personality has more episodes of painful ischemia than type B.
Recommendation:
In light of these results, it is recommended that a further study on a larger sample for a longer time is necessary in order to demonstrate more clearly the differences between personality type A and type B.