Effect of Music Therapy on Patients’ Anxiety and Hemodynamic Parameters During Coronary Angioplasty: A Randomized Controlled Trial

BACKGROUND: A cardiac catheterization laboratory can be a frightening environment and music can be a supportive source of environmental sound that stimulates and maintains relaxation. However, the results of studies are conflicting in this regard. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of music therapy on patients’ anxiety and hemodynamic parameters during percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This was a randomized controlled trial, conducted in the Catheterization Laboratory Unit of Baqiyatallah Hospital, in Tehran, Iran. A sample of 64 patients, who were planned to undergo coronary angioplasty, was recruited. Patients were randomly allocated to either the control or the experimental groups. In the experimental group, patients received a 20 to 40-minute music therapy intervention, consisting of light instrumental music albums by Johann Sebastian Bach and Mariko Makino. Patients in the control group received the routine care of the study setting, which consisted of no music therapy intervention. Study data were collected by a demographic questionnaire, the Spielberger’s State Anxiety Inventory, and a data sheet for documenting hemodynamic parameters. Chi-square, independent-samples t tests, paired-samples t-test and repeated measures analysis of variance were used to analyze the data. RESULTS: Before the intervention, the study groups did not differ significantly in terms of anxiety level and hemodynamic parameters. Moreover, the differences between the two groups, regarding hemodynamic parameters, were not significant after the intervention (P > 0.05). However, the level of post-intervention anxiety in the experimental group was significantly lower than the control group (32.06 ± 8.57 and 38.97 ± 12.77, respectively; P = 0.014). Compared with the baseline readings, the level of anxiety in the control group did not change significantly after the study (41.91 ± 9.88 vs. 38.97 ± 12.77; P = 0.101); however, in the experimental group, the level of post-intervention anxiety was significantly lower than the pretest readings (32.06 ± 8.57 vs. 41.16 ± 10.6; P = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Music therapy is a safe, simple, inexpensive, and non-invasive nursing intervention, which can significantly alleviate patients’ anxiety during coronary angioplasty.