Conclusions We found that psychological intervention  improved psychological symptoms and reduced cardiac mortality for people with CHD .
However , there remains considerable uncertainty regarding the magnitude of these effects and the specific techniques most likely to benefit people with different presentations of CHD
Background Although psychological interventions are recommended for the management of coronary heart disease ( CHD ) , there remains considerable uncertainty regarding their effectiveness .
Effects of a stress management program on vital exhaustion and depression in women with coronary heart disease: a randomized controlled intervention study.
OBJECTIVES Psychosocial factors , including depression and vital exhaustion ( VE ) are associated with adverse outcome in coronary heart disease ( CHD ) . Women with CHD are poor responders to psychosocial treatment and knowledge regarding which treatment modality works in them is limited . This r and omized controlled clinical study evaluated the effect of a 1-year stress management program , aim ed at reducing symptoms of depression and VE in CHD women . DESIGN Patients were 247 women , < or = 75 years , recruited consecutively after a cardiac event and r and omly assigned to either stress management ( 20 2-h sessions ) and medical care by a cardiologist , or to obtaining usual health care as controls . Measurements at ; baseline ( 6 - 8 weeks after r and omization ) , 10 weeks ( after 10 intervention sessions ) , 1 year ( end of intervention ) and 1 - 2 years follow-up . RESULTS For VE , intention to treat analysis showed effects for time ( P < 0.001 ) and time x treatment interaction ( P = 0.005 ) , reflecting that both groups improved over time , and that the decrease of VE was more pronounced in the intervention group . However , the level of VE was higher in the intervention group than amongst controls at baseline , 22.7 vs. 19.4 ( P = 0.036 ) but it did not differ later . The change in depressive symptoms did not differ between the groups . CONCLUSIONS CHD women attending our program experienced a more pronounced decrease in VE than controls . However , as they had higher baseline levels , due to regression towards the mean we can not attribute the decrease in VE to the intervention . Whether the program has long-term beneficial effects needs to be evaluated
Conclusions We found that psychological intervention  improved psychological symptoms and reduced cardiac mortality for people with CHD .
However , there remains considerable uncertainty regarding the magnitude of these effects and the specific techniques most likely to benefit people with different presentations of CHD
Background Although psychological interventions are recommended for the management of coronary heart disease ( CHD ) , there remains considerable uncertainty regarding their effectiveness .