Home exercise can ease hopelessness in coronary heart disease patients

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

18-Nov-2014

Contact: Carrie Thacker carrie.thacker@heart.org 214-706-1665 American Heart Association @HeartNews

Home exercise can ease feelings of hopelessness in people with coronary heart disease, according to a small study presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2014.

Feeling hopeless can be dangerous because it can discourage people from taking healthful steps such as exercising or quitting smoking, said Susan L. Dunn, Ph.D., R.N., lead author of the study and a professor of nursing at Hope College in Holland, Michigan.

People with hopelessness may also suffer from depression, which is marked by a loss of interest in activities they normally enjoy.

"For the first time, we show the beneficial effect of exercise in helping patients to feel more hopeful. With home exercise, patients are likely thinking more positively about the future and feeling more capable of making positive changes for a healthy lifestyle," Dunn said.

Past studies have linked the feeling of hopelessness to the development and worsening of coronary heart disease and a higher risk of complications and death. Yet, little research has been done on helping these patients and many healthcare professionals overlook things like mental state, attitude, perspective and outlook as aspects of patient care.

The new study involved 324 patients (average age 66, 33 percent women and 93 percent white) with coronary heart disease.

Researchers developed an instrument to measure feelings of hopelessness: "state" hopelessness, which is how pessimistic and helpless patients feel currently, and "trait" hopelessness, which captures how patients typically feel over much longer periods.

See original here:
Home exercise can ease hopelessness in coronary heart disease patients