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Abstract:
There is a growing body of research that connects heart rate and massage. These variously associate massage with reduced cardiac rate, lowered blood pressure, decreased anxiety and increases in relaxation and a sense of well-being. Dunbar and Redick looked specifically at back massage following myocardial infarction and Weiss reports a correlation between touch and heart rate during tracheal suctioning. This paper describes how massage was used to restore cardiac rhythm from a state of atrial fibrillation in one patient.