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Psychological Interventions for Reducing Distress in Patients with Cardiac Arrhythmias
Josefin Särnholm1,2, Allison E Gaffey3,4, Meghan Reading Turchio5
1Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Psychology, Karolinska Institutet, Nobels väg 9, Stockholm, 171 65, Sweden. josefin.sarnholm@ki.se.
Current Cardiology Reports
|June 25, 2025
Summary
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) effectively reduces psychological distress and improves quality of life for patients with cardiac arrhythmias. Integrating CBT into routine care can enhance clinical outcomes for these patients.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Psychology
- Health Services Research
Background:
- Cardiac arrhythmias, such as atrial fibrillation (AF) and ventricular arrhythmias (VA), are linked to psychological distress, including anxiety and depression, impacting patient quality of life (QoL).
- Psychological health significantly affects the clinical trajectory and prognosis of individuals with arrhythmias.
- Current arrhythmia care often lacks sufficient integration of psychological health support.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the application of psychological interventions, with a focus on cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), for managing psychological health in arrhythmia patients.
- To explore strategies for integrating these interventions into standard arrhythmia care pathways.
Main Methods:
- Focused literature review of psychological interventions for arrhythmia patients.
- Examination of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) efficacy and implementation strategies.
Main Results:
- CBT has shown effectiveness in alleviating anxiety, depression, cardiac fears, and avoidance behaviors, alongside improving QoL in patients with arrhythmias.
- Further research is needed to validate CBT's effectiveness within real-world healthcare systems.
- Multidisciplinary collaboration is crucial for integrating psychological health into arrhythmia management.
Conclusions:
- Integrating CBT into arrhythmia care holds the potential to improve patient clinical outcomes.
- Enhanced psychological support is vital for comprehensive arrhythmia patient management.
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