The dissimilarity between myocardial infarction patients' and spouses' illness perception and its relation to patients' lifestyle.

Aim And Objectives: To examine the dissimilarity between Chinese myocardial infarction (MI) patients' and spouses' illness perceptions (IPs), and to explore the relationship between patients' IP, differences in couples' IP and patients' lifestyle after discharge.

Background: An individual's IP is affected and moderated by several factors, including the social context. One of the most influential members of the social network of patients is the spouse.