Abstract: Objective To investigate the level about illness perception in patients with coronary heart disease. Methods From July to December, 2015, 198 inpatients with coronary heart disease who were admitted into hospitals twice or more were enrolled. They were assessed with Illness Perception Questionnaire-Revised (IPQ-R). Results The score of common symptoms was (4.55±1.64). The symptoms, for example, chest pains, uncomfortable feeling in chest, cold sweat, flustered and breathlessness were most frequently experienced and most often identified. For the illness perception part, the scores on subscales of treatment control and consequences were higher than 3, which was the neutral point. For the cause dimension part, the highest scores was (3.38±0.90) in diet or eating habits, followed by (3.38±0.89) in aging. Among these factors, immune factors had the highest mean score, followed by stress factor. Conclusion The level of illness perception in patients with coronary heart disease was in the middle level, and individual differences were obvious. The awareness of the disease and the intervention of the patient should be strengthened.

Key words: coronary heart disease, multiple hospitalization, illness perception