Abstract
One week after a first myocardial infarction 35 out of 100 consecutive men patients aged under 65 were found by standardised clinical interview to have psychiatric morbidity. In 16 the morbidity had been evident before the infarct, and these patients showed a wider range of psychopathology than those whose symptoms had been precipitated by the infarct. The results suggest that psychiatric morbidity in patients with heart disease is not necessarily a result of the disease process. Thus characterising psychiatric morbidity and identifying the patients' individual needs are important if rehabilitation is to be effective.