Relaxation: a nursing therapy to help relieve cardiac chest pain

The experience of cardiac chest pain is always traumatic and stressful for patients. The available literature suggests that although nurses place a lot of importance on cardiac patients being pain free, it is apparent this is often not achieved. Research and documented case studies suggest that relaxation can play an important role in the treatment and prevention of this distressing symptom (Tiernan 1994; Altice and Jamison 1989; Guzzetta 1989). Nurses caring for patients with chest pain need to look beyond medical management and begin to challenge nursing practice to help patients deal effectively with chest pain in a way that meets each individual's needs. This article discusses ways in which relaxation, when used as an adjunct to medical therapies, can be a useful nursing management tool for effectively relieving cardiac pain.