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Stress News June 05
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| Stress Management News & Article June 2005 Stress Management Immediately Cost Effective for Heart Disease Stress management not only reduce the long-term chances of heart patients having another cardiac event, but a new analysis by Duke University Medical Center researchers and the American Psychological Association demonstrates that this approach also provides an immediate and significant cost savings. In terms of both financial costs and reducing cardiac events, moreover, the benefits of stress management seem to exceed those of both exercise and usual heart care. The team found a financial benefit of stress management strategies within the first year of the study. Average costs for patients who utilized stress management were $1,228 per patient during the first year, as compared to $2,352 per patient for those who exercised and $4,523 per patient for those who received usual care. "These results extend our earlier work that showed stress management programs reduce cardiac events in the short term, and now we can demonstrate a long-term benefit," said Duke psychologist James Blumenthal, who led the study. "While confirming the long-term medical benefit of a stress management program for heart patients, the results of this analysis demonstrate a significant financial benefit as well." The results were published in the Jan. 15, 2002 issue of the American Journal of Cardiology. The study was supported by three grants from the National Institutes of Health. In the study, 94 male patients with established coronary artery disease were assigned to one of three groups. The first group received 1.5 hours per week of stress management training for 16 weeks, the second group exercised three times per week during a four-month period and the third received usual and traditional care. The researchers then conducted follow-up on the patients annually for five years. "While we were not surprised by the overall beneficial effects of stress management, we were surprised and pleased that the effects accrued so rapidly," said Russ Newman, executive director for professional development at the American Psychological Association. Stress management programs begin by helping patients identify the physical, behavioral, emotional and cognitive symptoms of stress. Patients then are taught how to react realistically and positively to these stresses. "One of the benefits of a stress management program is that once you've learned how to recognize and handle the stresses of everyday life, it tends to stay with you," Blumenthal said. "This is unlike exercise, which must be maintained for the benefits to be realized." |