October 19, 1997
Web posted at: 9:54 p.m. EDT (0154 GMT)
CHICAGO (CNN) -- Heart
patients can dramatically lower their
chance of having more cardiac
problems by utilizing stress reduction
techniques, according to the results
of a new study reported in the American Medical Association's
Archives of Internal Medicine.
Researchers at Duke University took 107 heart patients and put
them on either a four-month stress reduction program, a
four-month exercise regimen or allowed them to receive usual
heart care from their personal physicians.
Only three of the 33 people given stress management suffered
cardiac events, defined as a heart attack or heart surgery such as a
bypass or angioplasty. Seven of 34 people in the exercise group
suffered such events, as did 12 of the 40 patients receiving typical
care.
Those in the stress management program were 74 percent less
likely to have additional heart problems than those who received
only routine medical care.
"They reported that their stress levels were reduced, they were less
angry and they generally were functioning at a higher level," said
James Blumenthal, a professor of medical psychology at the Duke
University Medical Center.
"It's a very provocative finding, if
replicated," said Richard F. Sloan
of Columbia-Presbyterian Medical
Center in New York City.
Though many studies have linked
emotional stress with an increase
risk of heart attacks, this is one of
the first to report that stress
reduction can actually reduce the
risk, Sloan said.
The stress management program involved weekly sessions lasting
90 minutes. They included classroom teaching about heart disease
and stress, training in stress-reduction skills and group support.
"We would have people systematically tense the muscles in their
body, beginning with their feet -- having them tense their feet, then
relax their feet, then progress upward," Blumenthal said.
All of the patients in the study suffered from ischemia, an
impairment of blood flow to the heart, which is known to worsen
the outlook for heart patients.
Ironically, only about 10 to 20 percent of heart patients even wind
up in rehabilitation programs. Insurance is often an issue. And
doctors say it is surprisingly hard to convince patients that they've
got a stress problem, even after a heart attack.
Medical Correspondent Jeff Levine contributed to this report.
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