The Effect of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy on Quality of Life in Patients with Coronary Artery Disease: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Studies often focus on assessing PPCI-related outcomes such as mortality and major adverse events. But, few studies have been conducted to assess the psychological aspect, including quality of life (QOL). Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a nonpharmacological therapy guided by an experimental orientation to human behavior.

The present study aimed to determine the effect of CBT on quality of life in patients with coronary artery disease.

This randomized experimental study was conducted on 30 CAD patientswhounderwent primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI) in a cardiac clinic affiliated with Mazandaran University of Medical Science, Iran. The participants were selected using the convenience sampling method. Then, they were randomly allocated to two groups. The data collection tools included demographic information and the short form-36 health survey (SF-36). The data were analyzed using the statistical package IBM SPSS version 24.0. Descriptive statistics and chi-square tests, independent t-tests, and paired t-tests were done.

The present study showed that most patients were at least 35 years old, male, married, BSc, living in the city, and had no previous disease history and surgery. The independent sample t-test showed two groups had no significant difference before the intervention regarding the QOL score (P = 0.385). But, after CBT, the QOL score revealed significant differences between the two groups (P < 0.001).

The PPCI patients experienced sudden events without a previous mentality that helped them to cope with changed conditions. The results showed that CBT could be considered a non-pharmacological intervention necessary for PPCI patients.