The participants tried tomanage their symptoms using
different problem-solving and emotional strategies,
sometimes in combination.Whereas some participants
sought medical care fairly quickly, others tried other
strategies first.When they eventually realized that their
strategies were not working, they had to reconsider
their first decision and try newstrategies. This category
comprises 2 properties: problemsolving strategies and
emotional strategies (Table 2).
Problem-solving strategies included numerous selfcare attempts to manage symptoms. They self-medicated
with nitroglycerin or natural remedies for heartburn,
rested, walked around to ease the pain, checked their
blood pressure, or waited for the symptoms to wane.
Only 1 participant measured blood glucose after the
onset of symptoms.