A therapist-guided, digitally delivered CBT intervention improved disease-specific health status and reduced cardiac anxiety after myocardial infarction, with durable effects.
RCT
Does therapist-guided, digitally delivered CBT improve disease-specific health status and reduce cardiac anxiety in patients after myocardial infarction?
Therapist-guided digital CBT improves health status and reduces cardiac anxiety in patients recovering from myocardial infarction, supporting its integration into secondary prevention.
BACKGROUND: Cardiac anxiety, characterized by cardiac-related fear and avoidance, is common after myocardial infarction (MI) and is associated with reduced quality of life and adverse prognosis. Despite its clinical relevance, cardiac anxiety remains underaddressed in routine post-MI care. OBJECTIVES: The objective of the study was to evaluate the efficacy of a therapist-guided, digitally delivered exposure-based cognitive behavioral therapy intervention for cardiac anxiety (CA-CBT) in patients after MI. METHODS: In this randomized clinical trial, patients with a history of type 1 MI (≥6 months prior) and clinically significant cardiac anxiety were randomly assigned to 8 weeks of digital CA-CBT or usual care. The primary outcome was disease-specific health status assessed at 3-month follow-up using the Seattle Angina Questionnaire; cardiac anxiety was also assessed. RESULTS: Compared with usual care, CA-CBT was associated with greater improvements in disease-specific health status, particularly quality of life and physical limitation, as well as greater reductions in cardiac anxiety. Treatment effects were sustained at 12 months. CONCLUSIONS: A therapist-guided, digitally delivered CBT intervention targeting cardiac anxiety improved disease-specific health status and reduced cardiac anxiety after MI, with durable effects. These findings support the clinical relevance of integrating psychological interventions into multidisciplinary secondary prevention after MI. (Online Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Targeting Cardiac Anxiety MI-CBT; NCT05580718).
Johnsson et al. (Sun,) conducted a rct in Cardiac anxiety after myocardial infarction. Therapist-guided, digitally delivered CBT was evaluated on Disease-specific health status and cardiac anxiety. A therapist-guided, digitally delivered CBT intervention improved disease-specific health status and reduced cardiac anxiety after myocardial infarction, with durable effects.