Perceived support from healthcare professionals, shock anxiety and post-traumatic stress in implantable cardioverter defibrillator recipients

Aims and objectives To investigate (1) the extent to which shock anxiety and perceived support from healthcare professionals are related to post‐traumatic stress disease (PTSD) symptoms and (2) the extent to which perceived support from healthcare professionals moderates the relationship between shock anxiety and PTSD symptoms in implantable cardioverter defibrillator recipients. An additional aim was to describe the level of PTSD symptoms and perceptions of support from healthcare professionals. Background Studies examining PTSD symptoms among implantable cardioverter defibrillator recipients are still sparse. In addition, little is known about how perceived support from healthcare professionals is related to PTSD symptoms. Design Cross‐sectional survey design. Methods Recipients (n = 167) with implantable cardioverter defibrillator attending an outpatient device clinic completed questionnaires assessing shock anxiety, PTSD symptoms and perceived support from healthcare professionals. Results The results indicated that between ten and 15% of the recipients experienced moderate to severe symptoms of PTSD. Although a majority perceived constructive support from healthcare professionals, 12% perceived nonconstructive support. Regression analysis demonstrated that shock anxiety and perceived nonconstructive support from healthcare professionals had a statistically significant (p