The effects of reflexology on anxiety levels before coronary artery bypass graft surgery

Coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery is the most common surgical procedure for patients suffering from coronary artery diseases. Many studies demonstrated CABG as a serious crisis for patients resulting in excessive stress and anxiety. This study was performed to assess the effects of reflexology on anxiety levels among CABG surgery candidates in Shahid Chamran Hospital,Isfahan, Iran.

This clinical trial included 50 CABG candidates who were selected by simple random sampling. Patients were divided into the intervention and control groups based on the random numbers list. Reflexology was conducted for all patients in the intervention group for 30 minutes. Patients in the control group received usual interventions. Patient's anxiety was measured pre- and post-reflexology and usual interventions. Descriptive and inferential statistics methods were applied in SPSS to analyze the data.

Patient's anxiety significantly decreased in the intervention group in comparison with the control group (P < 0.001). However, no significant changes were observed in the control group.

The findings of the study showed reflexology to be a safe, effective, and cheap nursing intervention in reducing patient's anxiety before CABG surgery.