Alexithymia and psychopathology in patients with acute myocardial infarction

Objectives The purpose of this study was to investigate alexithymia in acute myocardial infarction (AMI) patients and its relationship with associated anxious-depressive co-morbidity. Methods We studied 71 participants: 30 consecutive patients with cardiac biomarkers and electrocardiographic criteria for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in a coronary care unit, with a mean age of 65.23 +/- 11.95 years (80% male) and a control group of 41 healthy subjects with a mean age of 62.85 +/- 7.83 (46% male). We used the Identification Form (sociodemographic data) and clinical diagnostic, the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), the Symptom Check List 90 Revised (SCL-90R) and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Results Results show that patients with acute myocardial infarction had alexithymia scores significantly higher (P = 0.000) than the control group (60.0 +/- 12.8 vs 49.9 +/- 8.91) and also higher scores in psychopathological traits screened by the SCL-90R, namely high levels of somatization and depression. We also observed a positive correlation between psychopathological symptoms and alexithymia. A significant prevalence of alexithymia was found in patients with AMI suggesting that psychopathological symptoms have a significant relation with alexithymia. Conclusions In this clinical setting the deficit of emotion expression points to the need of psychotherapeutic intervention in patients after an AMI event occurs, to improve prognosis and well-being.