Aline Pelle of the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NOSR) discovered that heart failure patients with a negative outlook seldom voiced their complaints in the presence of physicians or nurses.

Pelle investigated such patients with a so-called type D personality - people who never express negative experiences for the fear of being rejected by others.

The presence of D-type among cardiac patients is associated with anxiety and depression as well as reduced state of health. However, Pelle also described which processes might contribute to this.

Many D-type patients did not contact the physician or specialist nurse in the event of heart failure symptoms. Consequently, they were six times more likely to experience a worse state of health than non type-D counterparts.

Pelle established that not just the patient`s personality but also that of the partner had a significant effect on the patient`s mood. In particular, the combination within the couple proved to be particularly important.

Type-D patients with a non type-D partner reported the lowest marriage quality, even lower than type-D patients with a negatively oriented partner, said an NOSR statement.

Text courtesy: IANS