Pain and sleep quality in geriatric individuals withmyocardial infarction

This descriptive study was conducted to determine the correlation between chest pain and sleep quality of geriatric patients who were hospitalized in the Coronary Intensive Care Unit between April and September 2018 due to myocardial infarction (MI). Permissions were obtained from the ethics committee, institution, and the patients before the study. The sample of the study was determined with power analysis and the study was completed with a total of 128 patients. The data of the study were collected with questionnaire, Visual Analog Scale (VAS), and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). In the analysis of the data obtained from the study; t-test, one-way analysis of variance and Pearson correlation analysis were used. As a result of the study, it was determined that the average age of the patients was 74.6±6.9 years and 56.2% of them were male. 100% of the patients stated that they had pain concerning MI and 93.8% reported that this pain was localized in the chest and its surrounding area. In addition, it was determined that the patients' total mean score of sleep quality was 8.8±5.6, 90.6% of them had sleep problem after hospitalization, and 84.4% had sleep problem due to chest pain. It was determined that there was a correlation of 0.016 (p<0.05) between the VAS and PSQI. Besides, there was a statistically significant correlation (p<0.05) between the patients' VAS and PSQI mean scores and Troponin and CK-MB. According to these results obtained from the study; it can be recommended to regularly evaluate the chest pain and sleep quality of geriatric patients with MI, take necessary clinical precautions to reduce these problems, and support patients. Keywords: Myocardial infarction, geriatrics, pain, sleep quality, nursing.