Stress before the event, care after: Psychosocial stressors, psychiatric care, and cardiac rehabilitation…

Cohort studyHeart & lung : the journal of critical care· Jul 2026

Stress before the event, care after: Psychosocial stressors, psychiatric care, and cardiac rehabilitation after early-onset myocardial infarction.

Hrvoje Jurin, Ivana Jurin, Matias Trbušić … Tomislav Krčmar

Cardiopulmonary RehabilitationCohort studyClinical practiceQ2IF 2.3

Women report acute emotional stress before myocardial infarction far more often than men

Stress before the event, care after: Psychosocial stressors, psychiatric care, and cardiac rehabilitation after early-onset myocardial infarction.

Hrvoje Jurin … Tomislav Krčmar

Heart & lung · Jul 2026

Background

Early-onset myocardial infarction (myocardial infarction) has substantial consequences and sex-specific risk profiles.

Purpose

To examine sex differences in pre-myocardial infarction psychosocial stressors, post-discharge mental health pathways, cardiac rehabilitation (cardiac rehabilitation), and 12-month secondary prevention.

Methods

In this observational two-centre cohort (2021-2024), consecutive adults aged ≤45 years with confirmed myocardial infarction and coronary angiography completed psychosocial questionnaires during hospitalisation; first-ever myocardial infarction was not required.

n = 301 patients

Results

acute emotional stress before their heart attack was far more common in women than men

More results

Among 301 patients (214 men, 87 women; median age 43 years), 16 (5.3%) had prior myocardial infarction.

Women had higher GAD-2 and PHQ-2 scores.

Most patients reported no physician-initiated mental health discussion (78.4%), particularly men (82.9%vs 67.1%); women more often sought help (36.5%vs 16.1%).

More results

At follow-up, LDL decreased from 3.6 to 1.7 mmol/L and smoking from 78.5% to 46.8%.

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Conclusion · 1 of 2

Psychosocial stressors and psychological symptoms differed by sex, while clinician-initiated mental health discussions were uncommon.

Conclusion · 2 of 2

Findings are associative and hypothesis-generating, supporting psychosocial screening and referral pathways in cardiology follow-up and cardiac rehabilitation.

Stress before the event, care after: Psychosocial stressors, psychiatric care, and cardiac rehabilitation after early-onset myocardial infarction.

Stress before the event, care after: Psychosocial stressors, psychiatric care, and cardiac rehabilitation after early-onset myocardial infarction.

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