Randomized Crossover Study of the Natural Restorative Environment Intervention to Improve Attention and Mood in Heart Failure

BACKGROUND: In heart failure (HF), attention may be decreased because of lowered cerebral blood flow and increased attentional demands needed for self-care. OBJECTIVE: Guided by the Attention Restoration Theory, the objective was to test the efficacy of the natural restorative environment (NRE) intervention on improving attention and mood among HF patients and healthy adults. METHODS: A randomized crossover pilot study was conducted among 20 HF patients and an age- and education-matched comparison group of 20 healthy adults to test the efficacy of the NRE intervention compared with an active control intervention. Neuropsychological tests were administered to examine attention, particularly attention span, sustained attention, directed attention, and attention switching, at before and after the intervention. Mood was measured with the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule. RESULTS: No significant differences were found in attention and mood after the NRE intervention compared with the control intervention among the HF patients and the healthy adults. In analyses with HF patients and healthy adults combined (n = 40), significant differences were found. Compared with the control intervention, sustained attention improved after the NRE intervention (P = .001) regardless of the presence of HF. Compared with the healthy adults, HF patients performed significantly worse on attention switching after the control intervention (P = .045). CONCLUSIONS: The NRE intervention may be efficacious in improving sustained attention in HF patients. Future studies are needed to enhance the NRE intervention to be more efficacious and tailored for HF patients and test the efficacy in a larger sample of HF patients.