Symptoms of Traumatic Stress after Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting

Background: Traumatic stress symptoms have only recently been studied in association with medical treatment procedures. Purpose: The study examined associations of physical and psychological functioning during hospitalization to symptoms of traumatic stress after cardiac surgery. Methods: One hundred thirteen patients admitted for coronary artery bypass grafting participated in the study. Symptoms of traumatic stress were assessed one and six months after surgery, with the Impact of Event Scale. Preoperative stress and ruminative thinking, length of preoperative waiting, duration of surgery, and postoperative recovery indices (length of stay in the intensive care unit, cognitive functioning during intensive care, length of stay in the hospital) were examined. Results: Ten percent of the patients reported severe (> 19) symptoms of avoidance, and five percent reported severe symptoms of intrusion in both follow-ups. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that preoperative stress was positively associated to avoidance symptoms in both follow-ups (p < .01). Preoperative stress and ruminative thinking was positively associated to intrusion symptoms one month after surgery (p < .01). Disease related factors were not related to symptoms of traumatic stress during the postoperative period. Conclusion: This study highlights the role of preoperative surgery-related stress as a risk factor for traumatic stress in the postoperative period.