The effect of chamomile tea on dyspnoea and anxiety among patients with heart failure

Dyspnoea and anxiety are common problems that can lead to frequent hospitalizations and outpatient clinic visits and reduce the quality of life in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF). The aim of this study was to examine the effects of chamomile tea together with drugs on dyspnoea and anxiety among patients with CHF. A four-week controlled trial that was carried out among 60 patients with CHF who visited Honari clinic in Iran in 2014. The intervention group consumed chamomile tea together with medical treatments for 4 weeks. The levels of dyspnoea and anxiety were measured by the visual analogue scale for dyspnoea and Beck Anxiety questionnaire, respectively. After the four-week intervention, the severity of dyspnoea reduced from (25.13 13.22) to (16.76 5.76) in the intervention group, but increased from (21.00 11.02) to (29.43 13.10) in the control group. The anxiety level in the intervention group was 24.6 at baseline, and reduced to 12.06 at the end of the fourth week; while the anxiety level in the control group rose from 17.6 at baseline to 20.0 after intervention. Repeat measurement analysis of variance showed significant differences in dyspnoea and anxiety between groups (both p values < 0.001).