A pilot study to assess the effects of a guided imagery audiotape intervention on psychological outcomes in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft surgery.

Depression and anxiety are associated with increased risk of postoperative cardiac events and death in patients who have undergone coronary artery bypass graft surgery. These risks persist even several months after the procedure. Guided imagery has been used with cardiac surgery patients for some time and with numerous anecdotal reports of considerable benefit.

Feasibility and effectiveness of a brief meditation-based stress management intervention for patients diagnosed with or at risk for coronary heart disease: a pilot study.

Extensive research has led to the development of a psychobiological model of cardiovascular disease. This model suggests that psychological factors such as depression, anxiety, hostility, and stress may affect the development and progression of coronary heart disease (CHD). Recent studies have also demonstrated that meditation-based stress reduction programs are useful interventions for patients with various medical and psychological symptoms.

Protection throughout the life span: the psychoneuroimmunologic impact of Indo-Tibetan meditative and yogic practices.

The Indo-Tibetan tradition claims that proficiency in the suggested longevity practices of meditation, diet, and physical exercise (yoga), will result in profound anti-aging, stress-mediating and health enhancing effects. Western biomedical research has begun to demonstrate that the psychobiological states induced and cultivated by cognitive behavioral practices which are emblematic of those contained within the Indo-Tibetan tradition (hypnosis, meditation, visualization, systematic relaxation), indeed do have a profound impact on the body's protective and regulatory systems. Although continued study is necessary, much of the early research illuminating the mechanisms responsible for the life-span extending and health-enhancing effects of these cognitive behavioral practices points to the importance of their anti-inflammatory, anti-stress, and antioxidant effects as well as their impact in enhancing the production of endogenous substances that possess general longevity-enhancing, regenerative properties.

Illness representations and psychological distress in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft surgery.

Preoperative psychological distress has been shown to predict both postoperative distress and subsequent cardiac morbidity in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. This study assessed the associations between illness perceptions and psychological well-being among 56 patients awaiting CABG surgery using the Profile of Mood States (POMS) and the Illness Perception Questionnaire-Revised (IPQ-R). Patient perceptions of their illness as chronic were associated with reduced beliefs in both personal control over illness and efficacy of treatment, and increased perceived consequences of illness in terms of life functioning.