Having a heart attack, heart surgery or other cardiac event generally comes as a huge shock.
Around 75% of people experience the ‘Cardiac Blues’ after a heart event, with unexpected changes in mood and emotions, including sadness and tearfulness, anger and irritability, worry and anxiety, confusion and forgetfulness, withdrawal from friends and family, and loss of interest in life, amongst other symptoms.
Many people worry whether they will ever get back to normal.
These feelings are common and are a normal part of recovering from a heart event, especially in the first few weeks or months.
Clinicians working with individuals after heart events need to be confident in discussing the common psychological impacts of heart attack and surgery. Normalising the experience, with a vigilance to monitor recovery over the first weeks to months, is vital to support patients and identify when the cardiac blues may not have resolved and treatment and support for depression or anxiety is necessary.
Take a look at our downloadable resources here.
We acknowledge and recognise the clinical and academic leadership of the Australian Centre For Heart Health in the awareness and management of the psychological impacts of heart disease and the development of the cardiac blues resources.
Sign up to receive early access to webinars, exclusive opportunities, and stay up-to-date on the latest industry news, guidelines, and practical resources.
Pulse Point Academy acknowledges the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the first peoples and Traditional Owners and custodians of the land and waterways on which we work. We acknowledge and respect the rich history and traditions of the longest living culture on earth. We honor and pay our respects to Elders past and present.
Eugene has extensive experience in cardiovascular health as a clinician, educator, health promotion professional, improvement advisor and quality improvement lead for statewide heart health initiatives.
As a registered nurse, Eugene began his acute experience in tertiary hospitals in Cardiothoracic surgery and Cardiology, before moving to a rewarding role as a heart failure nurse with the Hospital Admission Risk Program supporting Victorians to manage their heart health and live well at home.
After a decade of clinical acute care, Eugene transitioned to health promotion, where he led national patient support programs for the Heart Foundation. Four years later, Eugene moved into quality improvement and program management at Safer Care Victoria where he managed a team to design, deliver and evaluate six cardiovascular projects in over 29 hospitals. Projects Eugene has led have focussed on secondary prevention, digital health, reducing unplanned readmissions, and bringing high quality cardiac care closer to home for regional patients.
Eugene is passionate about heart health, equity, and supporting and coaching clinicians to provide better high-quality care for Australians. Outside of work, Eugene enjoys time with his family with two energetic young sons, philosophy, running and travel.
