Relationship Between Optimism and Outcomes in Patients With Chronic Angina Pectoris

Am J Cardiol. 2019 May 1;123(9):1399-1405. doi: 10.1016/j.amjcard.2019.01.036. Epub 2019 Feb 7.

Abstract

Greater optimism regarding recovery from chronic illness is associated with improved quality of life and clinical outcomes. We performed a post-hoc analysis on the association between optimism and outcomes in Ranolazine in Patients with Incomplete Revascularization after Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (RIVER-PCI), a randomized trial in patients with chronic angina pectoris who had incomplete revascularization following percutaneous coronary intervention. At baseline, patients answered how much they agreed with the phrase, "I am optimistic about my future and returning to a normal lifestyle." We evaluated the association between baseline optimism and time to ischemia-driven hospitalization or revascularization using a Cox model, and the association between baseline optimism and change in frequency of angina pectoris using a mixed measures model. Of 2,389 patients, 782 (33.2%) were very optimistic ("strongly agree"), 1,000 (42.4%) were optimistic ("agree"), 451 (19.1%) were neutral ("undecided"), and 123 (5.2%) were not optimistic ("disagree" or "strongly disagree"). Very optimistic patients had a lower prevalence of co-morbidities and less severe angina at baseline than less optimistic patients. The rate of ischemia-driven revascularization or hospitalization was higher in neutral and not optimistic patients compared with very optimistic patients; this finding persisted after adjustment for co-morbidities and baseline angina frequency (hazard ratio 1.42, 95% confidence interval 1.14 to 1.77 for neutral vs very optimistic; hazard ratio 1.38, 95% confidence interval 0.98 to 1.94 for not optimistic vs very optimistic). Neutral and not optimistic patients also had less improvement in angina than very optimistic patients. In conclusion, in patients with angina, those with more self-reported optimism had better health status outcomes. Whether structured interventions targeting optimism improve outcomes in these patients warrants further study.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01442038.

Publication types

  • Multicenter Study
  • Randomized Controlled Trial
  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Angina Pectoris / epidemiology
  • Angina Pectoris / psychology
  • Angina Pectoris / therapy*
  • Chronic Disease
  • Double-Blind Method
  • Female
  • Follow-Up Studies
  • Health Status*
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Morbidity / trends
  • Myocardial Revascularization / methods*
  • Prognosis
  • Quality of Life*
  • Ranolazine / therapeutic use*
  • Sodium Channel Blockers / therapeutic use
  • United States / epidemiology

Substances

  • Sodium Channel Blockers
  • Ranolazine

Associated data

  • ClinicalTrials.gov/NCT01442038