STUDY OF THE EFFECT OF BENSON RELAXATION METHOD ON THE ANXIETY LEVEL OF PATIENTS WITH MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION ADMITTED TO CCU WARDS OF EDUCATIONAL AND TREATMENT CENTER OF SEYYED SHAHADA, URMIA, IRAN, 2017

Background & Aims: Myocardial infarction (MI) is known to be a leading cause of death and disability in the world, which can harm the patient physically, socially, emotionally or psychologically. Anxiety as an adjunct to psychological disorders can also affect the lifestyle of the individual and increase the cost of treatment, recurrence and increase mortality. Regarding the importance of this disease and the effect of anxiety in its intensification process, the use of relaxation as an independent treatment can have desirable outcomes such as reducing stress. This study was carried out to determine the effect of Benson relaxation method on the anxiety level of patients with myocardial infarction admitted to CCU wards of educational and treatment center of Seyyed Shahada, Urmia, Iran. Materials & Methods: This experimental study was performed on 60 patients were randomly selected and divided into intervention and control groups. In the intervention group, Benson's relaxation technique was performed for each patient for 2 consecutive days and 2 times in the morning and evening and each session lasted 15 minutes (A total of 4 sessions) There was no intervention in the control group and this group of patients received routine care. The data gathering tool were demographic questionnaire and the Spielberger Standard Anxiety Scale Questionnaire. The questionnaires were completed before and after e intervention. To analyze the data, covariance analysis and paired t-test were used by using of SPSS-21 software. Results: The mean of anxiety scores in the intervention group before and after the intervention were different, while in the control group, these scores did not differ significantly. There was a significant difference between the anxiety level of the two intervention and control groups after the implementation of the Benson relaxation method (p = 0.0001). Conclusion: Considering the positive effects of Benson's relaxation on reducing anxiety, easy and low cost utilization and the availability of this method, it is recommended to use this method to relieve anxiety problems in patients with myocardial infarction.