Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction for Coronary Artery Disease Patients: Potential Improvements in Mastery and Depressive Symptoms

Depressive symptoms after coronary events are associated with a worse prognosis. When changing the focus from psychopathology towards a resilience framework, treatments such as mindfulness meditation could offer novel ways to address psychological distress among coronary artery disease (CAD) patients. We studied the feasibility of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) for CAD patients with depressive symptoms. Seventy-nine CAD patients with elevated depressive symptoms were invited to an 8-week MBSR course. Twenty-four patients (30%) accepted and 16 (20%) completed MBSR. Depressive symptoms decreased immediately after the course (p = .006). After 12 months, this improvement remained, and Mastery scores increased (p = .005). A reference group of 108 CAD patients did not show any significant changes in depressive symptoms or Mastery between 1 and 12 months after a coronary event. MBSR thus appears to be a feasible alternative for CAD patients with elevated depressive symptoms. Future studies are warranted to study if MBSR can improve psychological functioning in CAD patients.