The effect of breathing exercises and yoga relaxation on tension, depression and anxiety in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft surgery - an interventional study

Yoga is one of the rehabilitation programs that engage the mind and body for positive health outcomes and it plays an essential role in the prevention of cardiovascular disease. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of breathing exercises and yoga relaxation on tension, depression and anxiety in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft surgery.

This experimental- intervention study was done in Kermanshah city in 2016. In this study, 100 patients with coronary artery bypass graft surgery were randomly divided into test group (50 patients) and control group (50 patients) in selected hospitals. Breathing exercises and yoga relaxation were performed for three days before and three days after removing the endotracheal tube in the case group. Data collection tool was dass21 questionnaire which was measured before and after the intervention. Then, the findings were analyzed using SPSS software and independent t-test, paired t-test, Spearman and Mann-Whitney test.

According to the findings, no significant relationship was found between the frequency distribution of gender, marital status, education, employment status and age of patients in the case and control groups (P-Value > 0.05). There was a significant difference between the mean scores of tension, anxiety and depression before and after the intervention in the case group (P-Value < 0.05). While this difference was not significant in the control group. There was also a significant difference between the mean of tension, anxiety and depression in case and control groups after the intervention (P-Value < 0.05).

By performing low-cost and simple breathing exercises and relaxing yoga in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft surgery, can act to improve and prevent psychological problems, especially anxiety, tension and depression.