Spiritual well-being, emotional distress, and perception of health after a myocardial infarction

Background: Myocardial infarction (MI) is a critical life event, but subsequent interactions between spiritual well-being, distress, and perception of health have not been researched. Objectives: This study examines relationships between spiritual well-being (SWB), emotional distress, and perception of health after MI. Methods: A sample of 124 patients recovering from MI completed the SWB Scale, Profile of Mood States, and Health Perceptions Questionnaire. Scores were analyzed for variability and central tendency. Simple associations between subscales were measured using correlation coefficients. Pearson partial correlations were used to examine associations between variables of interest after adjustment for sample demographics. Results: SWB was negatively correlated with emotional distress and positively correlated with perception of health. Among the subscales of emotional distress, only Tension-Anxiety was negatively correlated with perception of health. Conclusions: Further research is needed to determine whether improved SWB and perception of health, and decreased emotional distress, are associated with improved clinical outcomes.