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 .
Rationale and trial design of a randomized, controlled study on short-term psychotherapy after acute myocardial infarction: the STEP-IN-AMI trial (Short Term Psychotherapy in Acute Myocardial Infarction)
Objective A number of previous studies addressed the effect of psychological interventions in patients after acute myocardial infa rct ion ( AMI ) , but it is not known whether psychotherapy might be beneficial after medical and interventional therapy of AMI . We design ed a r and omized , controlled study to assess the effects of a short-term psychotherapy ( STP ) on the clinical outcomes of patients who underwent an emergency percutaneous coronary intervention after AMI . Methods One hundred consecutive patients undergoing an emergency percutaneous coronary intervention will be r and omized 1 week after AMI to medical therapy ( control group , C group ) or to medical therapy and STP ( STP group ) . Clinical follow-up visits are scheduled at 6 months , 1 and 5 years , whereas psychometric tests ( Self-Evaluation test , Modified Maastricht Question naire , Social Support Question naire , Recent Life Change Question naire , Beck Depression Inventory , the MacNew Heart Disease Health-Related Quality of Life Question naire , Type D Personality test ) are scheduled 1 week after AMI and at 1 year . The primary outcome measures of the study are the cumulative incidence of new cardiological events ( myocardial reinfa rct ion , death , stroke , life-threatening ventricular arrhythmias , and recurrence of angina ) and the occurrence of new medical disorders . Secondary outcome measures are the incidence of rehospitalizations due to cardiological problems , the prevalence of patients with New York Heart Association class ≥ II , left ventricular function , as assessed by echocardiography , and mean score of psychometric tests in the two groups at follow-up . Conclusion Our study has been planned to obtain an insight into how a STP influences clinical outcomes after interventional and medical treatment of AMI
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 .