Improving psychologic adjustment to chronic illness in cardiac patients. The role of depression and anxiety.

Background: Poor mood adjustment to chronic medical illness is often accompanied by decrements in function.

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of a telephone-based intervention for psychologic distress and functional impairment in cardiac illness.

Design: Randomized, controlled trial.

The effect of a telephone counseling intervention on self-rated health of cardiac patients.

Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a telephone-based intervention on psychological distress among patients with cardiac illness.

Methods: We recruited hospitalized patients surviving an acute coronary syndrome with scores on the Hospital and Anxiety Depression Scale (HADS) indicating mild to severe depression and/or anxiety at 1 month postdischarge. Recruited patients were randomized into either an intervention or control group.