Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the most common type of heart disease in the United States.
A typical cause of CAD is a buildup of plaque, which causes coronary arteries to narrow, limiting blood flow to the heart. Symptoms can range from chest pain to a heart attack while treatment options include lifestyle changes, medications, angioplasty, and surgery. While receiving treatment for CAD, various psychological symptoms such as pain, agitation, anxiety, depression, and disorientation may emerge depending on factors like painful procedures, unusual environment and people, disease, not being sufficiently informed about treatment, and implementation.
Music therapy research supports that music interventions, when facilitated by a music therapy professional, can have a positive impact on pain management, decreasing anxiety, managing symptoms of depression, and improving emotional expression and mood. Because some patients with CAD have to undergo painful procedures, this study investigated the effects of music therapy services provided to patients prior to undergoing Coronary Angiography on pain levels, anxiety, and vital signs (blood pressure, pulse, and respiratory rates).
There were 62 participants in this study, 31 in the control group and 31 in the experimental group. Researchers asked patients about their preferred music, which was included in their “patient information” form. The music treatment was implemented by playing pre-recorded patient-preferred music in the waiting room for the experimental group prior to their procedure. For both groups, pain and anxiety levels were simultaneously measured before and after the process; vital signs were measured before, during, and after the process.
Findings of the study showed that there is a significant difference between the means of anxiety after the procedure for both the experimental and control group. A significant difference was determined between the means before and after the procedure for blood pressure and pulse. However, there was no significant difference in respiratory rates.
The findings suggest that music therapy is effective in reducing blood pressure, respiration rate, anxiety, pain level, and sedative application for the patients.
By Kayla Stubblefield, MT-BC
Oyur Çelik, G., Güzelçiçek, A., & Çelik, S. (2022). The effects of music therapy on patients with coronary artery disease before the invasive procedure: A Randomized Controlled Study. Journal of Perianesthesia Nursing : Official Journal of the American Society of PeriAnesthesia Nurses, 37(2), 194–198. https://doi-org.proxy.library.ohio.edu/10.1016/j.jopan.2021.01.010