Impact of a Stress Reduction, Meditation, and Mindfulness Program in Patients with Chronic Heart Failure: A Randomized Controlled Trial.
Vaisnava Nogueira Cavalcante, Evandro Tinoco Mesquita, Ana Carla Dantas Cavalcanti, Jacqueline Sampaio Dos Santos Miranda, Paola Pugian Jardim, Glaucio Martins Da Silva Bandeira, Lais Marcelle Rufino Guimarães, Isabella Christina Diniz de Lemos Venâncio, Nathalia Manoela Condeixa Correa, Angela Maria Rodrigues Dantas, João Carlos Tress, Ana Catarina Romano, Fabiana Bergamin Muccillo, Marina Einstoss Barbosa Siqueira, Glaucia Cristina Andrade Vieira
Arquivos brasileiros de cardiologia October 1, 2023 DOI: 10.36660/abc.20220768
Summary
Participants in a Stress Reduction, Meditation, and Mindfulness Program experienced a remarkable decrease in perceived stress, dropping from 22.8 to 14.3 points on a 14-item scale, while the control group's scores increased. Among the 38 patients involved, those in the intervention group also reported significant improvements in quality of life, mindfulness, sleep quality, and performance on a 6-minute walk test. These findings highlight the potential of mindfulness strategies to enhance both mental well-being and physical health in individuals with chronic heart failure.
Abstract
Heart Failure is a significant public health problem leading to a high burden of physical and psychological symptoms despite optimized therapy. To evaluate primarily the impact of a Stress Reduction, Meditation, and Mindfulness Program on stress reduction of patients with Heart Failure. A randomized and controlled clinical trial assessed the effect of a stress reduction program compared to conventional multidisciplinary care in two specialized centers in Brazil. The data collection period took place between April and October 2019. Thirty-eight patients were included and allocated to the intervention or control groups. The intervention took place over 8 weeks. The protocol assessed the scales of perceived stress, depression, quality of life, anxiety, mindfulness, quality of sleep, a 6-minute walk test, and biomarkers analyzed by a blinded team, considering a p-value <0.05 statistically significant. The intervention resulted in a significant reduction in perceived stress from 22.8 ± 4.3 to 14.3 ± 3.8 points in the perceived stress scale-14 items in the intervention group vs. 23.9 ± 4.3 to 25.8 ± 5.4 in the control group (p-value<0.001). A significant improvement in quality of life (p-value=0.013), mindfulness (p-value=0.041), quality of sleep (p-value<0.001), and the 6-minute walk test (p-value=0.004) was also observed in the group under intervention in comparison with the control. The Stress Reduction, Meditation, and Mindfulness Program effectively reduced perceived stress and improved clinical outcomes in patients with chronic Heart Failure.