The Effect of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy based Educational Intervention on Depression and Anxiety in Heart Attack Patients

The effect of CBT in heart attack patients

Background: Depression and anxiety are among the underlying factors and effects of heart attack. Reducing these patients' levels of depression and anxiety is crucial for reducing recurrent strokes and enhancing their quality of life (QOL). The current study was conducted to examine the effect of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) on depression and anxiety in heart attack patients.

Methods: The current experimental study was conducted on a community of heart attack patients in 2021. The statistical population consisted of 197 patients admitted to the CCU of Yarmouk Teaching Hospital and Baghdad Teaching Hospital, Iraq. Using a simple random sampling method, 84 patients were chosen and divided into experimental and control groups (42 patients in each group). For data collection, the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R) was utilized. The data were analyzed using the analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) in SPSS software. The significance level was considered to be equal to 0.05.

Results: The mean depression score in the control group (1.27 ± 0.52) was significantly higher after the intervention compared to the experimental group (0.68 ± 0.29) (P < 0.001). In addition, the experimental group's depression score in the posttest stage was significantly lower than in the pretest stage (P < 0.001). ANCOVA showed a statistically significant difference in the mean posttest score of the dependent variables of depression (F = 129.48; P < 0.001) and anxiety (F = 123.99; P < 0.001) in heart attack patients who received the intervention.

Conclusion: CBT intervention was impressive in the treatment of anxiety and depression in heart attack patients, resulting in a significant decrease in anxiety and depression and a reduction in the likelihood of future heart attacks.