Effect of informed consent and educational background on patient knowledge, anxiety, and subjective responses to cardiac catheterization

Thirty-four patients undergoing elective cardiac catheterization were followed linearly with three questionnaires during their hospitalization to study some of the effects of informed consent. Patients learn about catheterization from the informed consent session conducted by a cardiology fellow. Several areas of knowledge deficiency were found. The emotional experience of hospitalization and the amount of knowledge about catheterization determined at the end of hospital stay is shown to be dependent on the educational level of the patient. Several recommendations are made for the conduct of the informed consent sessions to improve the knowledge of the less educated.