Aims.
To reconstruct the “meaning pathways” that lead general practitioners (GPs) to attribute definite causes to actual cardiovascular events.
Materials and methods. GPs participating in the Risk and Prevention Trial were asked to fill out a special form made up of two parts, an event-related section and a diary section, for each patient who had suffered from heart attack, stroke or cardiovascular death.►
Results.
169 GPs agreed to the proposal. Of these, only 73 (42,2%:21 females and 52 males) reported at least one event (AMI, stroke or cardiovascular death). A total of 248 cases were reported. GPs identified clinical factors and factors related to lifestyle as the main causes of the cardiovascular events, but socioeconomic problems and psychosocial distress are identified as equally important factors.
Conclusions.
Following a significant cardiovascular event, GPs reflecton the factors involved in the individual case, activating an interpretative mechanism based on the possibility of avoiding the event. The physician activates a meaning attribution pathway that seems to be characterisedby a search for “omissions”, that is a search of elements that did not work correctly in the process.