The distressed (Type D) personality: A risk marker for poor health outcomes in ICD patients

Abstract

The distressed (Type D) personality is an emerging risk marker for poor health outcomes in patients with cardiovascular disease. Patients with this personality disposition are typified by a general propensity to experience psychological distress. The contribution focuses on the impact of Type D personality on psychological distress, quality of life, ventricular tachyarrhythmias, and mortal ity in implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) patients and examines the relative influence of this vulnerability factor compared to ICD shocks and markers of disease severity in relation to these outcomes. © Springer-Verlag 2011.