Heart patients' anxiety reduced by hypnosis training

Medical researchers have confirmed that hypnotherapy can help reduce anxiety amongst heart patients about to undergo treatment. A team from the Peninsula Medical School, Exeter, found anxiety amongst patients with coronary artery disease awaiting coronary angioplasty – a process to enlarge the blood vessel and allow the blood flow more easily – was significantly reduced by a form of hypnosis known as autogenic training. Patients were taught six mental exercises aimed at relieving anger, tension and stress. The study cover a five month period during which 59 patients were either given standard care or care supplemented with autogenic training. Those receiving hypnosis were first supervised by an instructor after which they carried out their own exercises on a daily basis. The researched was headed by Professor Edzard Ernst, director of complementary medicine at the school who concluded that the hypnosis helped patients at a particularly difficult time in their lives. He explained: "Coronary angioplasty is associated with a high level of anxiety due to the complex nature of the procedure. "This is the first study of its kind - and autogenic training was shown to reduce this anxiety for the patient and improve their quality of life." Posted April 2004

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