The Short-Term and Long-Term Effects of Biofeedback-Assisted Relaxation Therapy in Patients With Heart Failure

Abstract

Background Relaxation techniques can reduce sympathetic nervous system activation and stress, potentially improving heart failure patients’ physical and psychological outcomes. Purpose To examine the effects of biofeedback-assisted relaxation (BFAR) therapy in patients with heart failure. Methods A prospective randomized control study was conducted. Participants in the treatment group received BFAR therapy, while participants in the control group received standard of care. Short-term outcomes were physical symptoms and psychosocial variables measured at baseline and 3 months; long-term outcomes were cardiac events and mortality assessed at 12 months. Results Fifty-two heart failure patients participated in the study: 23 (mean age 60.0 ± 13.7 years; 60.9% male; 39.1% New York Heart Association III/IV) in the treatment group and 29 (mean age 59.2 ± 12.2 years; 72.4% male; 48.3% New York Heart Association III/IV) in the control group. Short-term effects of BFAR on outcome variables were not significantly different between treatment and control groups. However, longer event-free survival was found in the treatment group compared with the control group ( p = .019). Conclusions/Implications for Practices BFAR therapy is effective to improve cardiac event-free survival of heart failure patients and can be applied to clinical setting.