Effect of Music Therapy with Emotional-Approach Coping on Preprocedural Anxiety in Cardiac Catheterization: A Randomized Controlled Trial

BACKGROUND: Individuals undergoing cardiac catheterization are likely to experience elevated anxiety periprocedurally, with highest anxiety levels occurring immediately prior to the procedure. Elevated anxiety has the potential to negatively impact these individuals psychologically and physiologically in ways that may influence the subsequent procedure. OBJECTIVE: This study evaluated the use of music therapy, with a specific emphasis on emotional-approach coping, immediately prior to cardiac catheterization to impact periprocedural outcomes. METHODS: The randomized, pretest/posttest control group design consisted of two experimental groups--the Music Therapy with Emotional-Approach Coping group [MT/EAC] (n = 13), and a talk-based Emotional-Approach Coping group (n = 14), compared with a standard care Control group (n = 10). RESULTS: MT/EAC led to improved positive affective states in adults awaiting elective cardiac catheterization, whereas a talk-based emphasis on emotional-approach coping or standard care did not. All groups demonstrated a significant overall decrease in negative affect. The MT/EAC group demonstrated a statistically significant, but not clinically significant, increase in systolic blood pressure most likely due to active engagement in music making. The MT/EAC group trended toward shortest procedure length and least amount of anxiolytic required during the procedure, while the EAC group trended toward least amount of analgesic required during the procedure, but these differences were not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: Actively engaging in a session of music therapy with an emphasis on emotional-approach coping can improve the well-being of adults awaiting cardiac catheterization procedures.