Men are overrepresented when it comes to heart disease, but there are certain conditions that mainly affect women, such as "broken-heart syndrome." Stress and anxiety are common in this group. A new study led by researchers at Uppsala University and Karolinska Institutet shows that internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) can reduce symptoms and help patients manage their emotions better.
Some patients who have clear symptoms of a heart attack, such as chest pain and shortness of breath, are without any obvious narrowing of the coronary arteries. This patient group includes people suffering from broken-heart syndrome, or takotsubo syndrome—a condition that is often triggered by extreme stress and causes heart attack symptoms.
Although people affected by these types of heart disease may experience stress and anxiety both before and after the event, there are currently no treatment guidelines for psychological support. In a new study, researchers investigated whether internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) can help patients manage their emotions more effectively.
"We can see that our treatment, which consists of an internet-based CBT program designed to manage stress and anxiety, reduces the symptoms. The reduction is significant and is in line with the results typically seen in psychological treatments. Furthermore, very few people dropped out, which suggests that the treatment was appreciated," says Philip Leissner, a psychologist and the study's first author.
