Among those receiving hypnotherapy, twelve patients (80 per cent) reported significant improvements in their symptoms while only three out of 13 (23 per cent) being treated by listening and a dummy drug, reported an improvement in pain. In neither group was there was any change in the frequency of bouts of pain.
Hypnotherapy was also found to significantly improved the sense of overall wellbeing and reduced the use of painkillers and other drugs prescribed to control the condition. By contrast, the control group, treated with supportive therapy, increased their drug intake.
Non-cardiac chest pain is notoriously difficult to treat and approximately one third of patients with chest pain thought to be caused by coronary artery disease turn out to have no identifiable cause for their pain.
Frequently patients are severely incapacitated by their condition - despite assurances from coronary specialists that there is nothing to worry about.
The study's conclusion stated: "Hypnotherapy appears to have utility in this highly selected group of NCCP patients and warrants further assessment in the broader context of this disorder."
The research was headed by Professor Peter Whorwell who more than 20 years ago pioneered the use of gut directed hypnotherapy for the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome.
The success of hypnotherapy in reducing NCCP was, he suggested, achieved by reducing the sensitivity of the gullet, or the strength of its contractions but it was also likely hypnotherapy helped patients to relax.
