Key result
CBT reduces post-MI OCD symptoms across most subscales in an older patient.
Why the study?
With cardiac events increasingly prevalent in an aging population due to improved survival rates, understanding their psychological impact and the utility of psychological treatments is of emerging importance.
Does cognitive-behavioural therapy focusing on exposure and response prevention and behavioural experiments reduce OCD symptoms in an older adult following a heart attack?
Case Report (n=1)
No
Does cognitive-behavioural therapy focusing on exposure and response prevention and behavioural experiments reduce OCD symptoms in an older adult following a heart attack?
Cognitive-behavioural therapy focusing on exposure and response prevention and behavioural experiments may effectively manage increased OCD symptoms in older adults following a cardiac event.
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
May support CBT for post-MI OCD in older adults except hoarding; hypothesis-generating and requires controlled trials before practice change.
Cardiac events are increasingly prevalent in an aging population due to improved survival rates, and thus understanding their psychological impact and the utility of psychological treatments is of emerging importance. This article details a cognitive-behavioural therapy intervention for an 81-year-old female who experienced an increase in obsessive-compulsive disorder symptoms following a heart attack. Using an A-B single case experimental design, the intervention appeared to be effective in reducing OCD symptoms across all subscales of the OCI-R, except for hoarding. An OCD protocol focusing on exposure and response prevention and behavioural experiments may be effective in managing symptom increases following cardiac events.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Hill et al. (2026) conducted a case report in Obsessive-compulsive disorder following a myocardial infarction (n=1). Cognitive-behavioural therapy (exposure and response prevention and behavioural experiments) vs. Baseline phase (A-B single case experimental design) was evaluated on OCD symptoms across subscales of the Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory-Revised (OCI-R).
Synapse has enriched 10 related papers. Consider them for comparative context: